Saviour
by shutupbella
Summary: I just wanna run to you and break off the chains and throw them away. Robbie/OC, Beck/OC
1. Ivory

**so err this is kinda like my first fic here. summary and title from "saviour" by lights. :) reviews are appreciated. **

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_Tap tap. Tap tap._

_Clack clack clack clack clack._

Beck Oliver gave a loud sigh and bent over in his plastic blue chair to pick up the pencil he'd dropped. It was just another uneventful day at Hollywood Arts, and though the daily routine was familiar and homely, it was boring.

He straightened up again and brought his iced coffee to his lips, drinking in the cool liquid. Normally, a teacher wouldn't allow food or beverages in a classroom, and Mr. Sikowitz probably wouldn't either, if he wasn't drinking something of his own. Beck looked up to see the teacher coming towards the back of the room, drinking coconut milk straight from the fruit from a red and white straw.

The class was supposed to have their attention turned towards some skit that Beck's girlfriend, Jade West, and his good friend Tori Vega were performing, and Beck usually was at least mildly interested in the plays that went on in the high school drama class. But today, he couldn't seem to get into it at all. He yawned loudly, and Jade stopped in the middle of her sentence to widen her eyes at him.

Beck raised both his eyebrows, and she grunted before turning back to Tori and delivering her line. Beck stared blankly past the actors to the wall clock and saw that it was only ten a.m., and that they'd been in the class for only thirteen minutes.

The red second hand passed up the twelve.

Fourteen minutes.

Beck rolled his eyes. He just wanted to go home, or at least get lunch and take a break from Hollywood Arts for a while. Nothing interesting ever happened here at all.

Exhaling audibly, he turned around slowly in his chair to see if Sikowitz was looking in his direction at all. He wasn't--he was sucking the coconut milk contently, slumped down in his own chair as he watched Tori and Jade with complete fascination. Beck turned around again and fished his Pear Pod from the pocket of his skinny jeans, popping an earbud into one ear. He turned the Pear Pod on and scrolled through the list of music before giving up and hitting "Shuffle." "Dakota" by A Rocket to the Moon immediately blasted into his ears, and, startled, he looked up to see if anyone else heard. If anyone did, they didn't show it. Even Jade was still absorbed in her scene.

Giving a halfhearted smile of relief, he sunk down the chair some more and scrolled the toggle wheel to the left a little so it wouldn't be so loud. He then closed his eyes and leaned his head back a bit, hopefully able to catch a quick nap without any disturbances for at least a few minutes.

It was at that moment when the classroom door decided to open.

Beck's eyes fluttered open at the noisy "creak." He groaned inwardly, trying not to make a scene, and shut his Pear Pod off. _What now?_

Jade and Tori stopped, Tori's mouth open in mid-sentence. The empty sucking sound of Sikowitz's straw had stopped, too, and Beck twisted around to see what was the big commotion.

In the doorway stood a dark-haired, olive-skinned girl, her face smiling awkwardly at the staring classmates. Her white-fur hobo bag was accented with tan suede straps and blue and salmon-colored beads strung on them. She donned a black three-quarter sleeve Henley over a purple lace-trim camisole, and a navy pleated skirt with black fishnet tights. She was clicking the heels of her black leather buckle-boots together nervously, almost obsessively like she was Dorothy from that one "Wizard" movie.

Beck turned around again to regard Jade's expression. Sure enough, she wasn't too happy that hers and Tori's skit was being interrupted--again. André Harris, Beck's other good friend, nudged him again, and he faced the new girl again.

Sikowitz was smiling, brushing off his worn, coffee-brown paint-stained slacks as he set his empty coconut aside as he stood. "You must be Rebecca," he said proudly.

The girl shifted from side to side, a squeaky "errrr" sort of sound emanating from the back of her throat. After a few short seconds of that, she opened her glossed lips and announced, "Actually, it's Ivory… but Rebecca! You know, I have a sister named Rebecca… but she's not really a girl… she's a guy… and his name's not really Rebecca… it's Ricardo… and he's not really my sister."

Her voice was surprisingly high, and even Sikowitz seemed thrown off by her rambling. She sheepishly brushed her dark purple side bangs to the side of her face, ducking her head as she plopped in the seat next to Robbie Shapiro and Rex Powers. Ivory threw him a small smile, tucking her skirt underneath her legs, and Robbie almost fell out of his chair.

It took a while for Beck to realize he was still staring until Jade let out a loud "ahem." Ivory's mouth pulled up a little at Beck, and Beck smiled back before turning his attention back to Jade and Tori.

Things suddenly got a little more interesting.


	2. Jade and the Skull Compact

Ivory was _its _name.

Jade ground her teeth so hard she was surprised her perfect pearly whites didn't snap right then and there. She clenched and unclenched her hands, heels clicking as she strode quickly down the hallway. The decorated lockers blurred past her in a stream of colors, and she blinked repeatedly as she slammed into the janitor's closet.

Once in, she flipped the lights on and started to slide down the wooden door in frustration before she stopped just a few inches off the floor. She paused, looking around, then ran over to the corner, where the yellow plastic mop bucket stood. She wheeled it viciously aside, and sure enough, that creepy bald guy was nestled into the wall with a Snuggie. Jade glared. "GET OUT!" she screamed.

The man glared right back at her. "NO!"

Before Jade could protest, he covered his bald head with the Snuggie and went back to what looked like sleep. Jade let out a grunt and flung the door open, letting the silver doorknob smash against the wall as she strode back out.

She ran out to the outdoor cafeteria and sunk down into a corner table obscured by shadows. She crossed her arms firmly and scrunched her face up in a rage.

She was mad because of the way Beck was looking at Ivory. She hadn't seen him look at anyone like that since well, herself. She pulled her light brown hair into a ponytail, then after searching fervently in her black leather vintage satchel purse for something to tie her hair with. After failing at that, she screamed again, ignoring the odd stares from everyone, and fished out a silver, skull-shaped compact. She flipped it open with a click and admired her face.

Suddenly, a light went on in her head. There was no way Beck would leave her for "_Ivory_." She was Jade West--she was popular. And hot. _And _Beck loved her already. Once you loved someone, you couldn't just take that back.

Or… could you?

Worry crept into Jade again, but she tried shoving it to the back of her mind. She was just being paranoid again. Here came Beck now. She started sitting up straighter and fixing a smile on her face. Suddenly, her face fell.

Because, right next to Beck, was Ivory. _Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear, _Jade thought snidely. Beck was laughing at something that _that _had said, and Jade closed her fist around the compact so tightly it snapped. The skull part flew off somewhere and hit Ivory in the forehead. Jade let out a little blurb of nasal laughter, and Beck threw her a startled glance that soon morphed into a warning one.

Ivory was rubbing the spot where the skull had hit her, smiling as she assured Beck she was okay. _Boo, _Jade simpered to herself, but soon brightened as Beck sent her away. She skipped away happily, and Beck sunk into the seat next to Jade.

"_What_ is your deal?" he asked, holding up the skull. Jade quickly glanced down at the black plastic she was holding before tossing it into her purse. "Baby, I have no idea what you're talking about," she lied coolly. "Now go get us something to eat. I'm starving." Beck muttered something like "Who sits down at a cafeteria without food?" but strode to the burrito stand anyways.

Meanwhile, Jade fixated her gaze on Ivory.

She was grasping a bottle of Sobe Lifewater and a red basket filled with skinny French fries and a few chicken nuggets. She was heading to the table where that creepy Robbie kid and his puppet sat. That one psycho with the red hair--Cat Valentine was her name, Jade recalled--and the other new girl sat there, too--Cat on the right side of Robbie, Tori on Cat's. Ivory put her food down next to Robbie, and after seeing who was sitting next to him, Robbie threw both the puppet and the burger he was holding into the air as he fell backwards in the bench. Ivory was gaping, but Cat and Tori brushed it off without noticing.

_Losers. _Jade heard footsteps coming up behind her and saw Beck standing above her with two blue plastic baskets of burritos. He was also balancing two cans of soda in one of the baskets, putting them on the table as he handed one can to his girlfriend. Jade picked up the can of Diet Mocha-Cola and stared at it for a while before putting it down blankly. She stared at Beck, who was lifting the burrito happily to his mouth. He only noticed her stare when it was almost touching his tongue.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Why aren't you enjoying your burrito?"

Jade picked up the can of soda. "I don't like soda," she said flatly, shaking it a little. She could hear the liquid slapping against the aluminum walls inside of the can before settling and fizzing for a little.

Beck stared at the Mocha-Cola can, then at Jade before saying, "Oh." He then took a bite of his burrito.

Jade put the can down and slid it slightly over to Beck, waiting for her boyfriend to take the initiative like he always did to return the drink and get her a coffee.

But he just swallowed the bite in his mouth and went in for another, overlooking the can in front of him completely.

Jade cleared her throat politely. Maybe she was being too subtle, and he just happened to have an off-day. He did seem pretty sleepy during her skit. Still, he was her boyfriend--it wasn't like she was gana go get the coffee herself, right? She was _Jade West_.

"I like _coffee_," she hinted quietly.

Beck nodded, and Jade sat back, pleased. _There we go. _It just took a little tuning. "So do I," he announced. "I guess it's another reason we're so compatible." And with that, he took another bite of the burrito.

_Er. _Okay. Enough beating around the bush. She was Jade West, and she was gana get what she wanted, when she wanted, especially from her boyfriend. "Get. Me. A coffee," she demanded, slamming the unwanted soda can on his burrito. Hot sauce squirted out and splashed onto her snow-white collarbone.

Beck stifled laughter until she shot him a menacing look. He then stopped and reached over with a yellow paper napkin. "You're just lucky that didn't get on my shirt," she said, gesturing to her black "Attack Attack!" bat-wing T-Shirt. She glared at Beck's hand that was cleaning her off and snatched the napkin away. "Just go get the coffee," she grumbled, wiping away the hot sauce herself.

Beck smiled, kissing her cheek as he grabbed the Mocha-Cola can. Jade succumbed to the kiss, then pushed him away when it was over. He was still smirking as he walked back to the drink station, but Jade let that one pass.

When she looked back up, she saw Ivory laughing hysterically at something Robbie had said. Again, Robbie fell over, shocked that a girl was laughing at something he said. Jade was shocked, too, but her gaze was still fixed firmly on Ivory.

She reached back into her purse and fished out the black piece of plastic, staring at one side before flipping it over. The words "made in thailand" were embossed in the material. She glanced back up at Ivory, then back down at the piece of plastic, feeling the strongest urge to chuck it at her.

Just as she was about to curl her hand back, Beck came with her cup of coffee. "What're you doing?" he asked warily. Jade quickly put it back in her purse. "Nothing," she said, and she grabbed the coffee out of his hand.


	3. Mamaw

Robbie stared at his reflection in a square-shaped hallway mirror, adjusting his disarrayed hair so he looked somewhat presentable. He was having André, Cat, and that new girl Ivory over for a while, and he wanted to look at least okay for two girls. It was a habit of his to fall for every girl that spared several seconds on him, but he never had a problem with it.

Robbie smiled at himself and regarded the puppet sitting on his left hand. "So, Rex," he began. "How do I look?"

"Like you always do," Rex crowed back at him; "Better give up on those girls now."

Robbie's face flushed. "You're a demon!" he yelled at him.

But Robbie tried not to be too bothered by Rex tonight. It was gana be perfect, he'd vowed prior.

The only interruption in his promise was that his Mamaw, on the night of all nights, had decided to pay the Shapiros a visit.

Robbie remembered exactly what he'd said when he'd opened the door. He'd been confused--hadn't he told the guys to come over at seven? It was only six. When he saw his Mamaw standing in the doorway, smiling at her beloved grandson, he'd began sputtering like a maniac before choking out "W-w-what the hell, Mamaw?"

Mamaw hadn't been happy about that, and gave him a thirty-minute lecture on the proper use of language, and it probably would've gone on for forever if she hadn't spotted a bag of Mini Twix in the open cabinet. Crunching on a bar, she'd said "We'll talk later."

But considering thirty minutes had passed between then and now, Robbie didn't expect Mamaw coming to talk to him again anytime soon. Which was good. Still, Robbie had thought the house was his--and André's, and Cat's, and Ivory's--that night. His parents were working late, at least until eleven. But Robbie should've expected this, considering his luck.

As if on cue, the doorbell rang. Robbie smiled and started towards the door, but the fuzzy feelings tapered off as Mamaw yelled from the kitchen, "WHO'S THAT, SWEETHEART?"

Robbie cringed, freezing in his tracks. "J-just some friends from school, Mamaw," he called back, hoping that she'd leave the matter at that. But Mamaw being Mamaw, of course she didn't stop. "OH," she bellowed instead of being quiet, like she was supposed to in Robbie's fantasy world. The world where he ended up with either Trina, Tori's sister who was her senior by one year, Tori herself, Cat, or, as of late, Ivory. "IT BETTER NOT BE THAT RED-HAIRED GIRL AGAIN," Mamaw shouted.

Robbie smacked his forehead. "God, Mamaw, what the hell is your problem with her?" he asked, then quickly covered his mouth. Too late--Mamaw heard what Mamaw heard. "ROBERT SHAPIRO, WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT LANGUAGE?" "LET IT GO, MAMAW," he shouted, and with that he flung the white door open, pasting a smile on his face like nothing happened.

One by one, the three friends entered the house. André first, who had a brown and blue hoodie over a black Volcom T-Shirt and dark relaxed jeans; followed up by Cat, her dark red hair combed into a low ponytail that trailed down the back of her light pink spaghetti-strap mini dress; and Ivory bringing up the rear, purple locks falling down her chest. She was donning a sheer cream-colored quarter-sleeve off-the-shoulder sweater over a navy blue tank top, and black Capri leggings one usually wore for running or yoga.

Robbie smiled at all of them, and almost forgot his problems until Mamaw barreled into the kitchen. "ROBBIE, I'M NOT DONE WITH--" She stopped mid-sentence, and Robbie prayed to God that she hadn't spotted the short red-head who was crouching behind tall André. His prayer went to waste as Mamaw said in a low, menacing voice:

"_Yoooooou_."

Everything after that happened in slow motion. First, he heard Cat beginning to hyperventilate, each breath longer and louder than the last, until she threw her arms out and screamed "What's that supposed to mean?" She turned back to Robbie. "_Robbieeee!_" "Cat, I'm sorry!" Robbie said sincerely. "Mamaw! Go away!"

"Ex_cuse_ me, Robert?" Mamaw asked, lipstick'd mouth agape as she put her hands on her hips. Her blood-red nail polish gleamed in the fluorescent light as they curled around the teal waistband of her black leggings. She had the leopard-print sleeves of her sweater rolled up, and Robbie could see her pulse throbbing in her wrist. The only thing left he could do was hope she wouldn't see--

"What? Whoooa, what's going on?"

"IVORY, you IDIOT!" he yelled.

Mamaw looked around for the girl who spoke next. Her eyes settled on Ivory, then to her purple hair, then back to Ivory. "Robbie?" she asked quietly. "_What. _Is _this?_"

Robbie slammed both hands to his face. Ivory stepped forward, hand thrust out in front of her. "I'm Ivory Rodriguez," she announced brightly, oblivious to the hatred portending from Robbie's grandmother. "Noooo," Robbie moaned.

It was a long time before Mamaw spoke again. "Robbie, _what the hell!_"

Ivory awkwardly drew her hand back, smiling fading from her face. Cat turned to glare at Robbie. "Yeah, Robbie, what the hell?"

"Come on," Robbie grumbled, grabbing Cat's hand with one of his and Ivory's with the other, pulling them both upstairs.

André remained abandoned in the living room, looking around him confusedly. Mamaw still stood on the long, wooden step that separated the dining room from the adjacent foyer/media room, tapping her flip-flopped foot expectantly at the boy. André finally stopped fidgeting, turning to face Mamaw.

He cleared his throat and rocked back and forth a little on his heels. "_I _didn't know her last name was Rodriguez."

"_AN_DRE, C'_MERE_."

André made a run for the staircase, tripping over the carpet as he did so.


	4. Stolen Lotion

Beck had just walked into school when the scene unfolded.

Ivory was explaining something over a mile a minute to the girl with the red hair, mouth moving animatedly and eyes lit up in excitement. Cat was listening with full-on interest, but had also lost her locker combination--again--and was muttering "My life's the worst!" over and over as she fiddled with the lock. Ivory didn't seem to notice for her friend's distress--if she didn't, she didn't care that much--and was much more absorbed in what she was saying.

The Jewish boy with the curly hair walked up to them, Rex in one hand and two powder blue bags in the other. He had a wide smile on his face as he said, "Morning, ladies."

Ivory stopped talking in the middle of her sentence as she caught sight of him and turned around immediately. "We're not talking to you." Cat affirmed that with silence--she even stopped whining about the lock long enough to do so. Beck cocked his head in interest from where he stood at his transparent locker, wondering what had happened for them to shun him like that.

The grin on Robbie's pale face had tapered off, and he lifted the hand holding the blue shopping bags. "I guess I deserve that," he said awkwardly, and extended the hand that wasn't holding the large puppet. "So I got you both this."

The girls cautiously took a bag from his hand like it was filled with poison, and slowly they peeked into the one Ivory was holding. Ivory's face slid out of its anger into slight confusion. "Perfume?" she asked in an odd voice. Robbie smiled again, nodding in excitement.

And then Cat exploded.

"What's _that _supposed to mean?" she shrieked. "Yeah, are you implying that we smell bad?" Ivory contributed. Both girls were close to tears.

Robbie started panicking, thrusting both hands out in front of him. "No, no, of course not!" Suddenly, the puppet fell off of his hand, and Rex grunted out in pain as his head hit the floor. Robbie yelped and quickly picked him up.

"Go away!" Cat cried. Ivory sniffed haughtily and handed both bags back to Robbie. Robbie left without taking them, and Ivory threw them on the ground.

Beck chuckled to himself.

Cat's large brown eyes focused on him. "What's so funny?" she whimpered.

Beck shook his head, wiping the smile off of his face. "Nothing." He then headed in the opposite direction, towards Jade's locker.

Jade stood against the wall next to a wide staircase with narrow steps and large landings. Large, shell-like headphones were clapped against her ears, connected to the Pear Pod Touch that was sticking out of the pocket of her heavy leather jacket. Beck could hear "I Don't Care" by Fall Out Boy blaring from the headphones from his spot at the beginning of the hallway. He didn't really care for the band, but Jade did, so he heard a lot of them whenever he was over at the Wests'.

He walked over to her and slid both hands around her waist. "Hey," he cooed. Jade offered her cheek up a little, and Beck sighed and obediently gave it a kiss. She smiled, and shut the Pear Pod off immediately. "Where've you been?" she asked. "You're late."

Beck lifted his wristwatch to his face. It was nine-oh-five. He and Jade usually met before classes at nine. "Only five minutes late," he reminded her. But Jade didn't care if he was three seconds late. She rolled her eyes. "Late is late," she muttered, pocketing the headphones. Beck was surprised that they fit in there. How deep _was_ that pocket?

Not like it mattered. Or that he cared. It was just a question, like the kind he posed in classes to pretend like he was listening.

"So, what do you want to do today?" Jade asked, lacing her fingers gently through his. They curled tightly around his knuckles, and he let his own dangle between them.

Beck thought for a minute--not about what he wanted to do with Jade, just about life in general--before Jade nudged him gently and he improvised an answer. "Wanna come over to the RV later?" he asked, referring to the recreational vehicle he lived in instead of his house--_his_ roof, _his_ rules.

Jade smiled. "I'd like that."

Beck nodded and decided to take a chance. "Yeah," he continued. "I can invite André, Cat, Tori, and Ivory." He mumbled the last name, but Jade heard.

"Whoa, wait, what?" she asked, turning away from him and jumping in his path. Before Beck could respond to that, she scrunched her nose up and asked in a loud voice, "_Why?_"

Beck shrugged, trying to act cool even though he was screaming on the inside. Jade did horrible things when she was angry. Horrible, _horrible _things. "Why not?" he asked, cursing himself when his voice shook and cracked.

Jade shook her head and headed into the drama classroom as the bell rang. Beck sighed and strode after her. "Jade, wait…" But Jade was already saying, "_Don't _talk to me." She sank into the seat next to Tori, and Beck slapped his hands against his jeans helplessly and took the chair that was next to André. Ivory was sitting next to Robbie--it looked like the two of them had made up between the perfume incident and now--but was squirming anxiously. Beck looked around the room. What was going on?

Then he saw it. Jade was shooting daggers at the girl--if looks could kill, Beck would be making plans for Ivory's casket. Ivory went all OCD and nervously patted out her dark blue Christian Audigier velour track pants, hitting the cool metal legs of her chair with the heels of her patent leather flip flops. She tried sinking back behind Robbie's profile, but Robbie's skinny figure didn't do much for her.

Jade finally looked away when Sikowitz crawled in through the window announcing that his lotion had been stolen.


	5. Robbie

Jade had flung the RV's door open before Ivory could even knock on it.

She was wearing a black kimono dress over skinny leggings and platform flip flops of the same color. The girl with the purple bangs felt odd in her navy blue tank top with a bunch of bananas on it and her vintage jean shorts. She ducked her head and stared down at the toes of her golden Chinese slippers. Jade stared down incriminatingly at her and impatiently tapped her foot as she waited for Ivory to say something. She choked out a small greeting, and Jade let out an "ugh" and moved from the doorway.

Ivory shuffled into the RV and saw Cat and Tori sitting on Beck's twin bed. She spotted André's big, black hoodie hanging on a chair, and began to look around for Beck. "He's out getting pizza, if you were wondering," Jade said flatly, answering the question in her mind. Ivory flushed and turned to look out the window. "Uh. Thanks."

Jade snorted and began sorting through the CDs that were sitting in a walnut-colored bookshelf. Tori cleared her throat awkwardly. Ivory spun around and smiled at the brunette. "Hello, Tori," she said stiffly. Tori pulled her hand up, pursing her lips in a smile and mouthing "Hi" in her direction.

Jade finally opened up a CD case and popped it in the stereo. After a few seconds, Big D and the Kids Table started humming through the RV. "Oh, I like this song," Ivory murmured, sitting down in the chair that held the black hoodie. Jade scoffed and sat down on the edge of a small table. "Imagine that," she said snidely. Cat and Tori stiffened with tension, smiles shaking a bit.

Thankfully, Beck and André chose that moment to burst in. They were holding one box of pizza each. "We got pizza," André sang out, putting one box next to Jade. He went to get his hoodie, then noticed the girl sitting on it. "Hey, Ivory," he said with a smile. He pointed at her. "Your butt's kinda on my hoodie."

Ivory got off. "Er. Sorry," she chirped, handing the jacket to her friend. André pulled it on with a smile. "Thanks. 'Preciate it."

Ivory got back in the chair. Beck breezed past her to put the other pizza box on the counter. She got a whiff of both cheese pizza and Axe© Body Spray.

Beck turned around and looked down at the purple bed below him. "Oh. Hey there, Ivory," he said nonchalantly, tossing his keys back and forth between his hands. He didn't notice the music until the track changed. "You found my Big D CD," he said happily, humming slightly.

Jade swung her legs back and forth. "Yup," she said loudly. "Apparently, Ivory just loves Big D." She threw a sidelong glance at the girl. "Don't you, Ivory."

Ivory blushed, tucking her head and shrugging a shoulder.

An awkward silence passed stonily through the RV, when suddenly Ivory's phone began buzzing in her pocket. She pulled the Nexus One out of her shorts and stared at the screen. In blocky letters it announced, "**one **new text from Robbie Shapiro!." "Oh, it's from Robbie," she sang quietly, and opened up the text.

_Hey, where are you? -Robbie_

When she looked back up, the silence had been broken. Beck was busy pouring Mocha-Cola into five opaque plastic cups--one beige mug filled to the top with black coffee had been set aside for Jade. André was talking to Tori about writing a new song. Cat and Jade were making awkward small talk.

Ivory moved away from Beck, more to the back of the RV, and typed back _beck's. y? _Then she hit the green "OK" button and a little gif of a yellow letter being folded into a green envelope and being sent away by a gust of wind replayed over and over for about ten seconds until the words "Congratulations! Your message has been sent!" scrolled onto the screen.

_Yes, because sending a text is an amazing accomplishment, _Ivory thought, and was about to go over to Beck before her phone buzzed again. Robbie sure was a fast typer. She touched the "Open" button on the touch screen and the message appeared.

_Oh, _it read. _Okay. When you get away, call me. I need to ask you something. -Robbie_

Ivory stared at the screen in confusion. What did he need to ask that was so serious? She opened up the "New Message" application again. _no jus tell me. sup?_ She hit "Send" again and rubbed the phone in between her palms nervously. She stood around anxiously for a little, then made her way to Beck, who was now spraying cheese onto a plate of crackers.

"H-hey," Ivory greeted, waving the hand holding the phone slightly. She was biting the other one. Beck looked up from his plate. "Hey," he said, putting the can of cheese down. "Is anything wrong?"

Ivory continued to chew away on her thumbnail. "No," she said with the finger still in her mouth. "Why? Does it look like something's wrong?"

Beck hesitated, then gestured to her. "Well, yeah," he said, and to her astonished look, he added, "You're kinda eating your hand."

"Am I?" Ivory looked down and forced laughter. "Oh! Ha! Look at that! I. Am!" She laughed again, and Beck regarded her oddly. "Ivory, seriously," he said, putting a hand on her bare shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Ivory hesitated, pulling her hand away from her mouth. "Well, it's just this text," she began, shaking her phone. "Robbie sounds urgent and I--"

"Do we have a problem here?"

Jade was standing behind Beck's outstretched arm, giving Ivory a I-hate-you-and-I-know-what-you're-doing-so-stop-trying-to-steal-my-boyfriend-you-little-bitch kind of smile. Ivory stared. Beck gave Ivory an apologetic glance, reluctantly brought his arm back, and wrapped it around Jade. They proceeded to the other end of the vehicle, just as Ivory's phone buzzed again.

_If you can find some time alone, text me back and I'll call you. -Robbie_

Ivory read the text a couple of times more, looked around the RV, and walked slowly to the door. "Guys, I'll be outside," she announced. "No one cares," Jade replied. "Jade!" Beck snapped. Ivory gave a shaky smile and walked out on Beck's driveway.

She opened up Robbie's text again and hit "Reply." An hourglass showed up and flipped up and down for what seemed like an eternity. _This phone is so slow, _Ivory thought harshly.

Soon, the field of white popped up, meaning that the reply was ready to be written. The keyboard slid up from the bottom of the screen, and she typed furiously: _ok im outside. call me_

She hit "Send," and a few seconds passed before Owl City's "Sunburn" started singing from her pocket. As she brought the phone up to her ear, she started dancing. She liked this song.

The ringtone was almost over when she remembered why it was playing. She quickly hit "Answer" and brought the phone up to her mouth. "Talk," she ordered immediately.

"I love you," Robbie blurted out.


	6. Second Go

_How can you love me, when I am ugly?_

_Guess I can only hope._

_

* * *

_

Robbie waited anxiously for the girl's reply, his Palm Treo pressed against his head with both hands. Both of them were shaking, and if he held the phone with only one hand, it would fall down.

Had he really just told her that he loved her?

Judging by the silence on the other end of the phone, he supposed he had.

He stood, frozen, in the middle of his bedroom, chest heaving up and down. He raked his hand through his bushy semi-afro, turning to face Rex sitting on the twin bed pushed up against the right corner. His eyes stared impassively past Robbie, the perpetual smile on his face encouraging.

Today, though, he couldn't rely on what Rex did. His confidence depended on whether or not Ivory would respond positively to his statement.

Minutes ticked by though, and Robbie was starting to get more nervous. "I-Ivory?" he asked softly.

"Wha? Huh?" He heard Ivory come to, and then the sound of shoes shuffling across gravel came up. "Robbie…"

She cleared her throat, and Robbie pressed the phone closer to his ear, eager to hear her reply.

Finally, she choked out more words. "Robbie, you don't love me," she said, more or less to herself than to Robbie.

Robbie felt rage bubble up inside him. He felt his face flush. The room instantly got hot. "Bu-but I do!" he shouted into the phone, then cringed. Mamaw was here again. He retreated to the back wall and crouched down, lowering his voice. "I love you, Ivory," he whispered passionately.

"Robbie, no!" Ivory cried. "You don't! You think you do, but you… don't!"

"Go out with me, then."

"Robbie."

"Ivory…"

Ivory started whimpering, and Robbie started panicking again. "Okay, okay, Ivory, I'm sorry."

"Robbie, I have to go."

"No!" Robbie began. "Well…okay."

"Bye," Ivory deadpanned.

"I love you," Robbie repeated to the dial tone.

He lowered his phone, staring at the Treo's screen. A red icon of a phone had appeared on a black translucent square. "CALL DISCONNECTED" was what a pair of big, white, blocky letters announced above it.

"No duh," Robbie muttered, tossing the phone aside. He heaved a sigh and sat down on the bed, next to Rex. Rex fell over, and Robbie immediately straightened him up again. He twisted around to look out the square window. It was sunset, and the sky was a mixture of pink and purple. He then looked at the car keys sitting next to the Zac Book from Pear Industries on his walnut-colored wood desk. Was he _really_ crazy enough to crash a party at Beck's RV, just so he could get to _her? _

He judged this for a moment, wishing he could find out what would happen if he stayed where he was, and if he went to Beck's RV. He flopped down on his back, looking up at his white ceiling. He groaned, slowly moving his pale palms in front of his face until his vision was obscured. If he stayed, what would she do? Would she randomly find some other guy to love, and he'd lose her forever? Or would she come to _him, _saying she loved him, too?

Or would she stay exactly the same?

Maybe she was right. Maybe he was just making this up. He _did_ tell both Cat and Trina that he loved them, didn't he? He moved his hands from his face to smooth out his blue, two-tone, long-sleeve T-Shirt. Yes, that was it.

He started moving his legs to the hallway. Maybe he was just hungry. The smell of Mamaw's casserole _was _enticing, after all. He tried to make this sound more convincing to him, and he started down the beige-carpeted stairs and into the large living room. He could hear his parents talking to Mamaw about what was in the casserole, and he tried not to look so mechanic as he came into view.

_I'm fine. I'm Robbie Shapiro, and I'm fine. _

But he realized, as he moved up the step that led into the dining room, that he couldn't shake Ivory Rodriguez from his mind.

Not a little, not a lot, not at all.

* * *

Ivory looked at the phone lying flat in her palm. She stared at the blank screen, then turned it over like she needed reassurance that it was, in fact, existent.

Robbie said he loved girls all the time, right? So why was she so worried?

Was it possible that she loved him, too?

Ack. No. That was silly. He was like her brother. And she wasn't all that crazy about incest.

She let out a shuddery breath and smashed her phone against her head. She suddenly felt cold. She wanted to go home.

She poked her head into the RV. Jade was sitting on the floor with her mug balanced on her propped up knee. Her other leg was stretched out. Beck was lying on his back on the floor, head resting on the inside of her thigh. André was sprawled out on the bed, chugging from a Mocha Cola bottle. Cat and Tori sat against the cabinets and eating pizza.

Beck lifted his head at the sight of Ivory. "Is everything all right?""P-peachy," Ivory choked out. "But, ah…I just realized I have to be…ah…somewhere."

Beck stood up. "Ivory, are you okay?"

"Leave her be," Jade called from the floor, excited that Ivory was going home. She took a sip of her coffee. "You shouldn't keep her, Beck, from being…_ah…somewhere,"_ she mimicked.

Beck looked to Ivory to see how she reacted to that, but Ivory just stared impassively at Jade. She then averted her eyes and looked out the window, and she began chewing on her fingernails again. "It's been fun, but yeah, I have to be somewhere," she mumbled.

Beck immediately lunged for his keys. "At least lemme take you home," he offered.

"No," Ivory shook her head and forced a smile. "That's all right, thanks. My house is just a couple of blocks over." Lies. But she needed to be alone for a while.

Beck hesitantly put his keys back on the counter and fiddled with the opaque, cream-colored buttons on his red checker-print flannel button up. "Well… okay." Ivory cringed at the words--Robbie'd said them before she hung up. "I'll see you tomorrow then," he continued. Ivory smiled at him for a second before going back to the door.

"Bye everyone," she called, shutting her eyes tightly to keep the shake out of her voice. "IM me later," Cat said, twisting a dark red piece of her hair around her finger. "Me, too," Tori requested.

Ivory hoped she didn't ruin anything.

She pocketed her Nexus and started down the driveway.

* * *

**okay! so drama! ooh! haha :) shanks for readingg. **

**i update pretty fast if you haven't noticed (haha) so the next chapter shouldn't take too long. :)**

**oh! and by the way! the lovely lyrics at the beginning are by the oh so talented and amazing Lights! (Second Go)**

**and before i leave thank you so much for subscribing and reading!**


	7. IMs

Beck stared at the door as it swung shut. He blinked a few times before taking a much-needed swig of Mocha-Cola. Half--no, whole--of him wanted to chase after Ivory and give her the third degree until she broke down and told him what had happened. No matter what she said, she wasn't fine--he wasn't stupid.

* * *

Robbie pushed the ceramic plate away from the bamboo placemat that he was slumping over. Mamaw looked up in concern. "Robbie, sweetheart, you didn't eat a thing," she said, sticking out her carmine-tinted lower lip. Robbie shook his head, sticking a few fingers underneath the left lens of his glasses so he could rub at his eye. "I know, but I'm really tired," he said in a hurried mumble. "Robbie--" Mamaw started again, but Robbie'd pushed himself away from the table. Mamaw and his parents sat in silence as they watched him stagger up the staircase.

* * *

Ivory stopped at the corner of her block. She could see her modern-styled townhouse just a few yards away. Her mom had just got home from the dermatology clinic--she saw Mrs. Rodriguez getting out of her white Subaru and adjusting her white lab coat. Ivory adjusted her hair and wiped the sweat off of her forehead so she no questions would strike up when she got home.

The pink and purple mix in the sky had faded into black, almost a dark purple as the orange lights of the city illuminated the bottom half. She wished she didn't live so near to the city so she could have a chance to see real stars sometime, and not planes or helicopters.

She pushed her front door open and announced, "I'm home!" to the household. Her dad rushed out into the front hall just as she was peeling off her slippers. "Where've you been?" he asked. "Beck's," she responded, trying to sound chirpy for her father.

Mr. Rodriguez nodded in understanding, brushing his salt-and-pepper hair out of his face. He ran a gnarled hand over his gray beard, the gold ring with the red stone in it glinting in the yellow hallway light. "Well, you want dinner?" he asked, blinking as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his black slacks. A charcoal-colored belt looped around his waist, and his toes curled into the white carpet in his black socks. The sleeves of his plum button-up were rolled up. "Mom made, ah, Spaghettio's."

Ivory shook her head. "Thanks, but no thanks, Daddy," she said. "I'm tired." She waved to her dad and proceeded on into the front room. Her nineteen-year-old brother Adam was curled up in the corner of the brown leather sofa. It was turned so it was facing the fifty-inch plasma TV. In Adam's hand was a wireless Game Cube controller; on his face was a lax expression. He was tan, like their mom, but his face took after their dad. His black hair was shaven down. Right now, he was donning relaxed baby blue jeans, white socks, and a white T-Shirt with green sleeves. Their little brother sat on the opposite end. Devon was already in his pajamas--blue "Transformer" T-Shirt Ivory'd had given him for his last birthday and black sweat pants.

She got along fairly well with her brothers, and seeing them made her less tense. "Hey," she said, sitting on the arm of the sofa closest to Devon. She gave the 11-year-old a hug and watched what Adam was playing."Honey, is that you?" Mrs. Rodriguez came out of the kitchen, already in dark bell-bottom jeans, a turquoise T-Shirt, and a yellow-and-red floral apron. She changed out of her uniform fast. "Hi, Mom," Ivory said lazily. "I was, um, actually gana go upstairs now. Kinda beat." Her mom nodded understandingly and went back into the kitchen. It was the first of the three rooms in the white wall to the right of the sofa. The kitchen entranceway was just a large rectangular archway, and you could see a lot into it. The floor was made of white-and-yellow linoleum. The counters were just plain white, and the cabinets were made of dark wood. A cheery red dining table was the only thing obscured from sight where Ivory sat. It seated six. The whole room was like the front room--lit up in fluorescence.

The room next to that was a narrow cleaning closet, which separated the kitchen from the bathroom.

The front room wasn't too furnished. Actually, it was just the sofa, the TV, a small rack that held Adam and Devon's video games, and two large windows. White lights paneled the ceiling here and there, with a couple of diamond-shaped sconces behind the set of long, wide and narrow stairs. The stairs were carpeted in a couple of shades whiter than the floors and were held in by black iron railings.

Ivory got up from the arm of the sofa. "'Night, guys," she mumbled awkwardly, and she walked upstairs.

There were only two floors to the house. Upstairs was a long, wide hallway. The first door on the right was Ivory's room. Across from that was her parents'. Then came a large window--on both sides--that gave a panoramic view of both front and backyards. After Mr. and Mrs. Rodriguez's bedroom was an entrance to her parents' master bathroom, and after the window on Ivory's side was the doorway to the bathroom she shared with her two brothers. The door at the end of the hallway was the room Devon and Adam shared.

Ivory sighed. The hallway light wasn't turned on, but she didn't find the need to turn them on anyways. The orange lights from outside spilled into the hallway, illuminating the long purple carpet that covered the cherry wood floors that was the exact same color as the walls. Ivory paused to look out to the front yard for a moment before disappearing into her room.

Her room was bigger than her brothers', but much smaller in comparison to her parents'. The walls were a dark purple, and the doors to her walk-in closet a burnt orange. Her platform bed was pushed up against the center of the left wall. The platform itself was a dark brown, almost black wood. The mattress was white, from IKEA©. The quilt was a dark purple paisley pattern, and the many pillows were made of silk and the same color of orange as the doors. Above the bed was the same diamond-shape sconce from downstairs. The charcoal carpet felt homely underneath her feet after the long day. The pale brown wood desk sat near the topmost right corner, just a little off of the large rectangular window that gave her a great view of the backyard garden.

She sank down in the pink paisley stool in front of her Zac Book. She closed her eyes, inhaled, and lit the patchouli-scented incense to her left. A strawberry Smencil rolled to her, but she rolled it back in the opposite direction.

Like the hallway, she hadn't turned the light on, and she touched the keypad a little so her Zac Book would wake up. Her Splash page was still open, and her status had been set to "going 2 beck's…fun fun! :D"

There were two other tabs open--ToonJuice and ZapLook.

She double-clicked on the Instant Messenger icon in the toolbar next to the clock, and her buddy list appeared on the screen. There was no one online. She went to the stereo system plugged into the right wall and turned it on. Lights blared into the room, appropriately at "Drive My Soul."

She sat back down at her computer, and was surprised to see two new messages.

One was from Cat.

**123abcat: **wat happened 2 u? beck got all worried.

She minimized it and opened up the other.

She was surprised to see that it was from Robbie.

**RobbieShapiro: **hey

She hesitated, then replied to Cat's first. It would give her time to think.

**iamivory: **nutn. dont wrry.

Then she took a deep breath and opened Robbie's message again.

She closed her eyes before typing.

**iamivory: **hey

She stared at her reflection in the Zac Book's scratched screen, chastising herself with each second that passed.

She heard a pop, and almost fell out of her chair. She anxiously looked for Robbie's IM. But she saw that it was Cat who'd messaged her instead.

**123abcat: **u still sound worried tho.

She pursed her lips. _like i said dont wrry. my problem_. She hit the yellow "send" button, then felt that sounded too harsh so she added, _but thnx 4 caring c [:_

By the time she'd sent that one, Robbie had replied.

**RobbieShapiro: **Listen, about what I said…

She sucked on her teeth. _dnt even wrry, mmk? its cool_

_Funny that I kept telling everybody else not to worry, while here I was worrying my guts out._

_

* * *

_**your comments really make me happy! haha:) **

**thank you for reviewing and subscribing. :D**

**this chapter was sorta killer to write since there was so much detail put into ivory's house and her bedroom, but it was fun. c:**

**okey! hope you enjoyed the chapter..and stay tuned for chapter 8!:)**


	8. Superman Tonight

_There's something about you I want to rescue. I don't even know you. So what does that mean?_

Robbie stared unblinkingly at the Zac Book's wide screen. It was only seven o'clock, but already he felt tired from his head to his toes.

_Maybe I'm cynical. I'm painfully logical. You're tragic and beautiful, and that's good enough for me._

He had no idea what to say to Ivory's message--that he was glad that everything was okay, even though it was so painfully obvious that it wasn't? That he loved her? He looked over to Rex for some guidance, but the dummy stared unseeingly from the spot on Robbie's mattress.

_You're looking for a hero, but it's just my old tattoo._

Robbie hesitated before taking the Palm Treo from the desktop.

_Tonight, I swear, I'd sell my soul to be a hero for you._

Quicker than he'd ever done anything in his life, he dialed Ivory's number, holding it impossibly close as it rang once, then twice, then another time before he heard that sweet voice stammer something of a greeting.

_Who's gana save you when the stars fall from your sky?_

"Ivory, I love you," he said in a firm and sure voice.

_And who's gana pull you in when the tide gets too high?_

"Robbie, I love you too," she said in a soft voice, "just not like that."

_Who's gana hold you when you turn out the lights? _

"Then let me take you out," he demanded. "Please," he added in a gentler, pleading tone.

_I won't lie. I wish that I could be your Superman tonight._

He heard a sigh, then a click, then the deafening sound of the dial tone. He turned back to his Zac Book, but it clearly stated that "iamivory" had logged out at the same time she'd hung up.

_If somebody sent you an angel to save you, would you tell him to turn him away?_

He took off his glasses and looked towards the Salvador Dali Melting Clock on the left wall. _You're so stupid, Robbie, _he admonished himself.

_That your heart don't break, that your lips don't kiss. That life is just a lie, that heaven don't exist?_

He moved Rex to the top shelf of a bookcase, then stretched out on his bed. He could hear the city life crawling outside of his house--the angry honking of cars, the sirens of police cars and ambulances… He reached over to the lamp on his desk and shut it off, plunging the room into relative darkness. Orange light from the outside spilled in, making an illuminated rectangle on his calves.

_Who's gana fix you the next time you break down? _

He stared up at his ceiling, hands pulled together behind his head. _What am I going to do?_

_Standing alone by the side of the road. It's your baggage that's dragging you down._

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. _Oh, God, what am I going to do?_

_Don't look back. Let it go._

And suddenly, he shot up in his bed.

He mechanically moved his legs out of bed, grabbed the car keys sitting next to his Palm Treo, and thundered downstairs. He peered into the dining room and saw his parents clearing the plates away. Evidently, Mamaw had gone home already.

Mr. and Mrs. Shapiro looked expectantly at their son. "Mom? Dad?" He sheepishly held up his keys. "I… just need to go for a little drive."

* * *

**okay so i know this chapter is like super short and stuff but i really wanted to incorporate this song into the story because it's really awesome. haha. :)**

**but to make up for the lack of updates in a while and the shortness of this chapter the next one will be up really really soon. promise. :)**


	9. The Choice

At around eight-o-five, everyone had gone home except Jade.

Beck stuffed an attacked pizza box into a large black trash bag as Jade tossed her drained mug carelessly into the sink. Beck cringed at the loud sound it made as it hit the steel walls, but relaxed as he saw that it didn't shatter. Jade came over to help him tie the red drawstrings of the garbage bag. He hesitated, then asked, "Do you think Ivory's okay?"

He saw something flash in Jade's eyes, turning them a darker color, and her shoulders hitch and tense up. She shrugged jerkily, curling her hands around the drawstrings of the bag so tightly her knuckles whitened. Still, all she choked out was, "Wh-who knows-_s-s-s?_"

The drawstrings snapped, and the garbage bag fell open, spilling all its contents on the floor again.

Beck looked down at it, exhausted, and tried pushing it back in the broken trash bag.

Jade wrung out her hands sheepishly and put a hand down on Beck's back. "Babe, I'm gana go home," she said softly. Beck stood back up. "Alright," he replied. "See you at nine."

He gave Jade a tiny smile, and Jade kissed him quickly before bounding out of the RV.

Once she was gone, he sighed loudly, pushing his hand up his dark hairline as he stared back down at the open trash bag. He loved Jade, but sometimes she was such a handful.

He put the bag into another one and brought it out to the curb.

* * *

At eight-thirty, Robbie was still driving around in his dark green Volvo. He'd been hoping that he would've found some solace by now, but every second that passed just rubbed salt on the wound.

The original plan was to go to Ivory's house, but by the time he'd pulled up on her street he'd lost the nerve. Not to mention the little voice inside his head that was calling him a clingy stalker.

As he glanced at himself in the rearview mirror, he couldn't help but think that maybe Ivory was right—maybe he was just infatuated, not in love.

_Then how come I can't stop thinking about her?_

He found himself at the corner of her street again, stuck at the bright red stop sign. He thrummed his three middle fingers on the steering wheel, staring at the townhouse in the center of five houses on the right side of the road. Beads of sweat began rolling down his forehead.

The nerve was beginning to build up again, but each time it did it kicked itself back down, and Robbie found himself sitting there for quite some time. It would've gone on forever if the two cars behind him didn't start honking violently. His tires squealed as he drove down the road.

It was like he was watching himself through someone else's eyes as he pulled up in front of the Rodriguez household. The front yard had a long row of rose bushes on the right side of the house, and a brick wall on the left and in front of the house covered in wildflowers. A cherry blossom tree sat in front of the brick wall, next to a line of three marigold shrubs. A Subaru was parked in front of the single eggshell-colored garage door.

Robbie turned off the ignition with shaking hands, watching the lights on the dashboard fade away. He wiped his brow, licking his dry lips and swallowing hard. _You can do this._

Slowly, he opened up the car door, stuck his lanky figure out, and breathed a breath of fresh air. He walked up the brick walkway, almost tripping as his vision blurred. He stepped onto the front deck, also made of brick. A white plastic chair sat in the corner, with a folded newspaper sitting underneath it. A hanging potted plant swung above the door.

Slowly, he reached his fist forward and rapped timidly on the door three times. He heard a muffled voice—presumably her father—bellow, "Ivory, get the door."

He listened for Ivory's voice, but it never came. He wondered if she'd fallen asleep, or she ignored her father or something like that. But soon he heard footsteps coming briskly towards the door, and he straightened up his figure immediately. His heart boomed not-so-steadily inside his chest. A few seconds later, and Ivory stood in the doorway. She was wearing a bright, expectant look on her face, but it drooped when she saw who was there. Robbie wondered if he'd made a mistake.

He looked at her outfit—a beige, baggy tank top over a more-fitted black one; black, tight leggings; and black leather lace-up boots. She looked down at him, almost looking as nervous as he did. "Robbie," she said flatly, though she tried putting some exuberance in it, "I was just about to call you."

Robbie's heart lifted, but he saw right through the lie. "No, you weren't," he said for her. She shook her head.

Robbie stood awkwardly. "Can you come outside?" he asked softly. Ivory hesitated, looked behind her shoulder, and stepped down, closing the white door behind her.

When she walked slowly near the white chair, he caught a whiff of her perfume—lavender vanilla, but not the one he'd bought her, he noticed. He didn't expect her to be wearing it anyways.

"You have a nice place," he said after a while. "What're you really here for, Robbie?" she asked incriminatingly, looking bored as she sank down into a chair. A mosquito flew by her, but she swatted it away immediately.

Robbie pushed his hair behind him. He took a deep breath, and rolled his shoulders back. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, then opened it again, then closed it again. His tongue felt like rubber.

Ivory got up sharply, and Robbie startled at the sudden movement. "Okay, Robbie, if you're not going to speak, then I will. Because I've been thinking about what you said and, um, I think I love you too? But I don't know? Robbie, I'm only sixteen, I don't even know if I want any of this stuff, but I don't choose the things I want, you know? I don't even know what kind of car I want. But anyways…like…I mean…if you still wanna give this whole dating thing a try then I guess I'm up for it—"

Robbie cut her off by grabbing her by the shoulders and planting a rough kiss on her lips. He didn't notice she was whimpering until he felt pressure on his forearms. Robbie pulled away in shock. "What's wrong?" he asked in a low voice.

She was rubbing her lips, the rims of her eyes brimmed with the slightest of tears. "You're hurting me," she said in a mumble.

Robbie's face flushed as she turned away. "Oh, Ivory, I'm so sorry," he said, walking after her. He wrapped both arms around her shoulders, and she relaxed into his chest, but still whimpering and prodding at her mouth.

They stood in that position for a while, the buzzing fluorescent lamp above them serving as some sort of a spotlight. It was Ivory who spoke first. "So, um," she said into the fabric of his sweater. "Does this mean we're…like…um, a couple?"

Robbie fidgeted, making tiny circles on her forearm with his finger. "Do you want to be?" he asked.

* * *

**this is my favorite chapter. lol.**

**i love robbie. :)**

**..read and rate por favor!**

**thank you. [: 3**


	10. Worry

A sharp _ding-dong _rang through the Vega household at eight-fifty p.m. Tori was surprised—who could be here this late?

She looked over at her sister on the other end of the red couch, who was closer to the door than she was. Trina was staring at a silver-and-gold hand mirror and didn't look up. Tori cleared her throat.

Trina tore her gaze away from the mirror sharply. "_What,_ butt-munch?" she asked snidely. Her sloped nose was wrinkled in annoyance, and her body tensed in her black and red shirt dress. Her high ponytail swung as she stared at Tori.

Tori gestured toward the door in her own oversized Hollywood Arts T-Shirt and black short-shorts. "Do you think that you could get the door?" she asked in an obvious voice.

Trina just snorted. "Are you kidding me?" she asked, turning back to her mirror. "That would require effort," she murmured, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

The doorbell sounded again. Tori moaned and put her Zac Book aside, walking over to the door.

When she opened the door, she saw Jade standing there, sobbing her guts out. She still hadn't changed out of her getup from Beck's, and the only difference was that her mascara was streaking down her cheeks. Before Tori could ask what was going on, she cried, "Beck's gana break up with meeee."

"Bye," Trina yelled, going up the stairs, still absorbed in the mirror.

Tori stared helplessly at her sister disappearing down the hallway, then back at Jade. Jade screamed, flung the door shut, and sprawled out on the sofa. "Yeah, sure, come in," Tori said to the door.

She sighed and went back to Jade. "Well, how do you know that?" she asked, trying not to sound annoyed. She reached over to rub Jade's shoulder, but Jade immediately mumbled, "Don't touch me."

Tori withdrew her hand and pursed her lips, waiting for Jade to reply. "You can see it in his eye-hye-hyeeees," she sobbed, reaching for a tissue from the tissue box on the coffee table. She blew her nose violently, then handed the tissue to Tori. Tori waved it away. "You can keep that," she said quietly.

"Oh," Jade mumbled, looking at the tissue for a while. After judging it, like she so often did to Tori, she thrust it out at Tori again. "I don't _want_ it, though." Her face then scrunched up again, and Tori wasn't sure if she was gana sneeze or cry. "Just like Beck doesn't want meeeee."

"Aw," Tori said simply. Jade used one hand to cover her turned-away face, but the other one was still holding the thrust-out tissue. "Er," Tori whimpered, looking down at the tissue, then back at Jade, then at the tissue again finally. She winced, then took the crumpled tissue with her thumb and pointer finger.

"Ew," she cried, throwing it into the wire mesh trashcan beside the couch.

She turned back to Jade, who was still crying insanely. "B-Beck loves you, though," she said desperately. "Not anymore," Jade sniffled. "He loves… Ivoryyyy." She wrapped both arms around Tori's, burying her face into her shoulder. She sobbed silently for a few seconds, mouth stretched open, before she began thrashing around and screaming.

Tori squirmed uncomfortably. "Jade," she began, trying to sound gentle. Jade continued crying loudly. Tori narrowed her eyes. "Jade." "Waaaaahh," Jade shouted. "JADE, SHUT UP, MY PARENTS ARE ASLEEP," Tori bellowed.

Jade stopped crying and looked up at the Latina. "What kind of people go to bed at 8:50?" she whimpered. "Jade, that's not the point!" Tori cried.

Jade sniffled loudly again, then reached for another tissue. "You're right, it's not," she said in a thick voice, drying her nose and her face. "But you _have_ to talk to Ivory for me," Jade begged.

"Oh," Tori moaned. "Why me? What would I even say to her?" "Tell her to stay away from Beck!" Jade snapped simply. "Why can't you do it yourself?" Tori asked incredulously. "Because Beck likes nice girls, I guess," Jade stated unhappily. "I'm not stupid. I'm not going to ruin my chances with Beck even more."

Tori frowned, fixing her messy hair. "But you've never been nice," she said flatly, "and he hasn't broken up with you before." "That's not what I'm _saying_, Tori," Jade grimaced. She winced. "Just…just talk to her, okay?"

Before Tori could say anything, Jade got her purse off of the sofa and left the house, slamming the door as she went.


	11. The Warning

_We are rockets in the sky._

_We are planets passing by._

A siren wailed somewhere far away.

Ivory was staring up at the boy towering above her, her lower lip quivering as she searched his eye.

Robbie began stroking her hair, then moved his hand to her cheek. She cringed. He pulled it away. "Tell me the truth, Ivory," he said in a low voice. "I won't be mad."

Ivory swallowed. A cool breeze picked up and rustled through them.

"Do you want to be a couple, or don't you?" Robbie repeated, gently again, but Ivory could see the sadness in his face.

A tear rolled down her face before she could even stop it.

Robbie was quick to remove it with his warm thumb. "Don't cry," he whispered, and Ivory buried her head in his chest. Robbie put his pale chin in her hair. "Do you?" he asked, barely audible.

Ivory shuddered, suddenly cold. Robbie pulled her closer.

She nodded against his chest. "Of course," she said quietly, her voice cracking.

Robbie nodded, too. "Well, then." He kissed the side of her head. "That's great." She felt him smile against her skin, and when she looked up she saw him with his eyes shut, as if he was savoring the moment.

She shut her eyes, wanting to savor the moment, too.

* * *

"Ivory?"

Ivory turned from the inside of her locker to see Tori standing timidly a good five feet away. "Tori!" she exclaimed. "Hello." She smoothed out her green sweater dress and walked over to her, white sandal wedges clicking loudly in the hall. "How are you?"

Tori fidgeted a little. "Ah, er, hm," she said, looking around awkwardly like the answer to the question Ivory had posed was on the floor somewhere. "Tori?" Ivory said in her high voice, looking up at her tall friend in concern. She pulled her hair away from her face. "Is everything all right?"

Tori pursed her lips before blurting out, "Stay away from Beck."

Ivory jumped a little, confused and shocked at Tori's statement. "Why?" she asked quietly. "Is something wrong with Beck?" She gasped. "Is he okay?"

Tori shook her head at the first question, then nodded at the second. "Well, then, what is it?" Ivory pressed. Tori shook her head again. "Uh," she sighed. Ivory looked at her expectantly. "Yes?" Tori raked a hand through her brunette hair. "Jade just thinks you're trying to steal him from her," she explained in exasperation.

Ivory nodded, but didn't get it that much. "I see," she lied, nodding slowly. "But that's not possible, you know," she added. Tori nodded. "I know." Ivory nodded, too. "Beck's a really great guy, and cute, too, but we're just friends," she claimed. "Besides…I'm kinda with Robbie now."

She hid her face. Tori gave her a big smile of her straight and perfect pearly white teeth. "You are? That's so cute," she gushed.

Ivory looked back up again, smiling sheepishly. "Yeah," she admitted bashfully. "Here he comes now, I think. Or maybe that's just a bushy-haired kid…"

Robbie walked up to the pair. He stood stiffly away from Ivory, and she cocked her head at him, confused. "Hey, guys," he said awkwardly.

"She knows, Robbie," Ivory informed him with a pleased smile on her face. "Really?" Robbie asked, and he slipped his arm around her. "Then, good morning." Ivory giggled.

"Where's Rex?" Tori asked, gesturing to his bare hands. Robbie smoothed out his heather gray sweater with his free hand. "I left him at home," he answered.

"That's too bad," Ivory simpered. Her boyfriend shrugged.

The bell rang. "Well, I guess we better get going," Tori said, jerking her thumb to Sikowitz's classroom. "Or do you two wanna be out here for a while? Even if you do, I'mma go. I feel like some intruder." "No, it's fine," Robbie grinned. "I'm coming, too." He looked down at Ivory. "You?"

"In a little," she said. "Just go on without me. I'll catch up with you later." Robbie stepped away, then looked back when he was almost at the door. "You sure?" "Sure I'm sure," Ivory said valiantly, adjusting her white-fur purse on her shoulder. He looked at her oddly, and she gave him a smile. He disappeared into the classroom.

Ivory grabbed some perfume out of her locker and tucked it into her bag, closed the door, and was ready to go to drama until she heard a soft voice call her name.

"Hey. Ivory."

She froze, not wanting to face him. "I'm not supposed to talk to you, Beck."

The bad boy walked up to her, standing in her path. She looked away and shut her eyes tightly, but she could still picture his face. "Says who?" Beck breathed. She could smell Crest toothpaste wafting from in between his lips.

"I think that's unclassified information," Ivory sounded out, hoping she got the line right. Or was it classified? Whatever it was, if it was right or wrong, Beck didn't say so. He sighed, and he heard the sound of him smoothing out his hair. "Was it Jade?"

Ivory looked up, but refused to look him in the eyes. "Well, I mean, I guess it doesn't count as telling if you guessed…" She chewed on her thumb. "But technically it wasn't Jade." "Then who was it?" Beck demanded.

"Guess!" Ivory chirped. Beck groaned in aggravation. "Ivory, you're impossible," he said.

"Well, whoever it was, then just ignore them," Beck said finally. Ivory looked at him fearfully. "But, if the message is from Jade, and I ignore it, then…" She gulped. She looked around, then beckoned for Beck to come closer. Even when he leaned down to her short 5"1 stature, she had to stand on her toes to whisper in his ear.

"Jade will _eat _me."

Beck chuckled. "No, Ivory, I don't think she'll eat you," he assured her, patting her head. She whimpered. "Kill you, maybe, but I don't think she'll eat you," he continued, staring off into space. Ivory let out a cry, and Beck patted her head again. "I'm just kidding," he affirmed.

Ivory stuck out her lower lip. "That was mean," she pointed out. Beck shook his head. "Yeah, I know." He smiled and looked down at her. "Sorry."

Ivory smiled, clenching to the strap of her bag. "Well, let's get going," she said.

And then, side-by-side, the pair walked off to class.


	12. Realisation

"Ivory, watch ou—" "Oh, man, Robbie, I'm so sorry."

Robbie smiled understandingly up at the girl, wiping his shirt. "It's fine, don't worry," he assured her. He looked down at his black T-Shirt. You couldn't even notice the orange juice. Sure, it was cold against his skin, and sure he now smelled like orange juice and was a total bee attraction, but Ivory was just too cute to get mad at. Not to mention sensitive. If he raised his voice to her at least a little, she'd break down crying. And if she cried, he didn't know what he would do.

Andre looked at the two oddly, poking at his spaghetti. "So, you and Ivory, huh?" he said to Robbie. Robbie smiled proudly. "Yes," he said, wrapping a thin arm around his new girlfriend. Ivory gave a toothy grin to Andre.

Andre smirked. Robbie's face fell. "What?" "Nothing," Andre mumbled. "I just thought that, if anybody, Ivory would end up dating Beck." He nonchalantly took a bite of his spaghetti. "Man, this tomato sauce is amazing." "You don't mean that," Tori said from his left side. "No I do not," Andre said. "But I am a hungry man."

Robbie blinked. "Wait, what?" Ivory stood up. "I'm going to get more juice," she said. "Robbie, do you want anything?" Robbie ignored her, and she sheepishly drew back to the juice machines. "Andre, what do you mean, you thought she'd end up dating Beck?" he asked.

Andre shrugged. "Exactly what it sounds like." "I know, but why would you even think that?" Robbie sputtered. "Robbie, calm down," Cat said quietly. "Not until someone explains this to me," he demanded. "Robbie, you're overreacting," Andre snickered.

Robbie pondered this for a moment. Was he? Whatever. "Were they, like, showing signs of dating?" he asked nervously. Why hadn't he noticed this before? "I don't know, I just had a gut feeling!" Andre exclaimed. "Now, can we just drop this?" "Totally," Cat mumbled.

Robbie let the matter drop, but he didn't let it go.

Ivory came back with her orange juice, but Robbie'd noticed her standing a good distance away before she came to sit back down again. She was probably waiting for the argument to be over. She awkwardly put the juice bottle down, carefully placing it away from Robbie, and sat back down again in between him and Cat.

Robbie eyed her suspiciously out of the corner of his eye. She just caught his gaze and smiled at him. Robbie shot back a weak smile before turning away, propping his chin up in the palm of his hand. He moaned a little. "Robbie, are you okay?" Ivory asked. Robbie nodded, but he stared away still. "Totally fine," he mumbled. He felt her hand trace figure eights on his shoulder.

He watched Beck and Jade walk past. He was holding her hand up to his mouth, kissing it, and Jade was smiling smugly. _See, Robbie, _he thought to himself, _no reason to get worried. _Jade and Beck were obviously very much together.

Still, he couldn't help but think about it, trying to dig deeper into his mind, back to last week when Ivory first came to Hollywood Arts. There wasn't much to remember, but still, Robbie felt like he was missing something every time he ran through the days in his mind. A disguised flirt, maybe? Something that didn't seem too suspicious at the time?

Stupid Andre. He glared at him across the table. It was his fault for bringing the whole thing up.

Or maybe it was _his_ fault. Maybe he _should_ just let it go. Ivory was his now, wasn't she? And even if she and Beck _did_ have a thing, that was in the past.

Yes. He was just overreacting.

And even though the desire to pummel Beck into a pulp still remained, it was slightly lessened.

* * *

_In the middle of the night when I'm in this dream, it's like a million little stars spelling out your name. You gotta come on, come on, say that we'll be together. Come on, come on—little taste of heaven._

"Sur-ree lawww-ning-kah." "Sri Lanka, Ivory." "No one cares what you think."

Ivory giggled and put her head down on Robbie's shoulder. Her fingers traced the margins of the world atlas they were studying, Robbie's hand put lightly on top of hers, and closed the geography textbook. "That's enough studying for tonight, don't you think?" she asked in a pleading voice.

Robbie looked down at her, his chin touching her forehead. "Maybe…" He kissed her nose, and she leaned back on her bed. Robbie leaned back with her, and she wrapped her arms around him, using his chest as a pillow. She listened to his steady heartbeat, feeling his hand on her back, and decided then and there that she could spend forever lying here like this with him.

She sat up after a while, palms flat on Robbie's chest. He looked up at her from where he lay, raising his brow expectantly. "_What_ are you thinking about?" she demanded in a soft voice, pulling her hair out of his eyes. Robbie smirked. "You. Duh." He sat up, too. Ivory smiled, putting the textbook back in her lap. "_Please take a long, hard look through your textbook_," she sang in a murmur underneath her breath, "_'cause…I'm history…_" She always burst out singing like this, but thankfully, Robbie never questioned them, like a number of people had done before him.

He smiled and started rubbing her hand when Mr. Rodriguez came in. "Daddy," Ivory scolded disapprovingly. Robbie froze like a deer caught in headlights. "Don't you ever knock?" she continued to chastise.

Mr. Rodriguez brushed off his daughter, smoothing out his white T-Shirt. There was a gray stain on the corner. "Are you kids studying?" he asked with a smile on his face, but there was an edgy warning to it. Ivory smirked and waved the textbook. "We're getting there," she replied.

Her father nodded and left the room. Robbie let the breath he'd been holding out. "Does your dad like me?" he asked. Ivory smiled. "Maybe," she said. "I never really asked him. Do you want me to?" "Ivory!" Robbie exclaimed, his face turning red as Ivory giggled. "That's not funny." "Yes it is," Ivory said, touching his lips with hers for a brief moment.

Robbie took a breath and grabbed her hand, leaning his forehead against hers. He closed his eyes, mouth hanging open just a little. He moved it slowly towards hers and kissed her softly.

_In the middle of the night, we can form this dream. I wanna feel you by my side standing next to me._

"I… I love you, Ivory," he murmured.

Ivory smiled, her forehead still touching his. "I love you too," she whispered for the first time. "And…" Robbie pulled away. _And?_

"And," Ivory continued, folding her hands properly in her lap, "I love Fweezy Queen." She grabbed his keys from behind him, holding them up and jingling them a little. "Let's go."


	13. Hatred

Beck slammed the door to his locker to see Ivory's back. Her dark, coffee-brown hair heaved with her small shoulders. She was picking at the rose embroidery of her black cotton strapless mini dress, and the way she constantly shifted her fur tote bag from one hand to the other was an obvious sign of distress. Beck reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. "Ivory, are you—" "No, don't hit me!" she cried, spinning around and taking a good step back as she waved her hands at him.

Beck advanced towards her in concern. "What? Ivory, did someone hurt you?" He looked around defensively, squeezing his hand into a fist. "I swear to God, Ivory, I will—" "Oh, Beck, it's just you," Ivory relaxed, coming back to him. "It's fine." She touched his fist, and the feeling of her fingers made his fist unravel. "Sikowitz just threw another ball at me." She shrugged.

Beck smiled at her. She gave him a crinkly grin back, and Beck was just about to ask her something when her boyfriend came over with that creepy puppet he had with him more than he was with his girlfriend. Robbie smiled at both of them and leaned down to put a kiss on her cheek. Beck tensed. He couldn't wait for the last day of school so he'd get to stop seeing all these public displays of affection. It was just gross.

Luckily, he didn't have to wait long—the last day of school was in just a little over a week.

Truthfully, he wouldn't mind them if he was in Robbie's place. But it's not like he would say that out loud. Besides, he was dating Jade. And if Jade—if anybody—found out how he felt about Ivory, then he'd definitely never hear the end about it. And Robbie and Ivory seemed completely in love, as much as he didn't want to admit so. He could see their love in the way he looked at her—at the way she looked at him. And he didn't want to interrupt that. Whatever made Ivory happy.

Speaking of love, where was _his_ girlfriend? As Ivory and Robbie gazed at each other, he tried to not look like the third wheel, looking around for Jade. He was being stupid—he loved Jade. He loved her so much. And it was normal to have feelings for someone else, right? Even if you were in a relationship with someone else? It happened to some of his other friends more than once, and he didn't even raise an eyebrow at it.

Sikowitz brushed past the three, murmuring "Excuse me" as he popped into his classroom. A few short seconds later, he poked his head out. "Robbie?" Robbie broke the kiss he and Ivory were in to turn around, Ivory's hands still pressed gently on his shoulders. "Yes, sir?" "That squirrel's back in my office," Sikowitz explained, gesturing to inside of his classroom.

Robbie sighed and turned back to Ivory. "I'll get the nuts," he mumbled, giving her a parting kiss before leaving. Ivory closed and opened her hand at him as he left.

Sikowitz began going back inside before noticing the girl. "Oh, and Rebecca?" "It's still Ivor—AHHH!" She ducked into Beck's arms as Sikowitz hurled another plastic ball at her.

Beck stared insanely at the man, gripping the trembling girl in his chest tightly. Sikowitz cackled and ambled back into his office.

Ivory took her nose out of his sleeve but still pressed her fingers into his forearm. "You okay?" he asked gently, patting down her dark hair. She nodded, but when he tried to break the hug, she pulled him closer. He snickered, but held her close, too.

As he breathed in the scent of her apple hand soap, he realized that he never wanted to do anything else but just hold her to him.

_I don't wanna miss one smile. I don't wanna miss one kiss. I just wanna stay right here, right here with you, just like this._

He felt her separating, and almost cried out "No!" in protest. She was giggling sheepishly, tucking her dark hair behind her ear. "I shouldn't be doing this," she murmured, more or less to herself than him. She looked down at the toes of her heather grey Ugg sock boots, waved a little to Beck, then walked into the room. A few seconds later, a pink dodge ball flew out of the room, and a little after that, Ivory, screaming her head off and running towards Tori.

Jade crossed her path, and she bumped into her a little. Ivory stared up at Jade a little, fearful, and Jade flared her nostrils at her. Beck crossed over almost immediately. "Hey, sweetheart," he said, pulling her to his side. He made a sweeping motion at the shorter girl, mouthing "Go" over and over until she got it, nodded, and continued running to Tori.

"Isn't that bag gross?" Jade simpered, wrinkling her nose. She didn't seem to care if Ivory was in our out of ear shot, either. "I hope she didn't really kill anything for that." She absentmindedly stroked her own alligator-skin clutch. "That's just inhumane…" She threw a flirtatious glance at Beck, who pretended not to see and looked away. He hooked the tip of his thumb into his pocket, tapping his other fingers on Jade's shoulder. "Don't do that to me," she admonished, and he stopped.

Sikowitz dangled something round and colorful outside the door, and Ivory flinched, probably thinking it was just another dodge ball. "Rebecca, I have a cookie," he sang loudly, and Ivory threw the book she was holding into Tori's arms before running towards him and exclaiming, "Oh, yay, I love cookies!"

In the weeks she was here, it seemed like Ivory had transformed into just another Cat. It was cute, actually. The two were an adorable pair. But Beck didn't seem to find himself drawn to Cat like he was Ivory. Sure, he and Cat were friends, but Cat was more like his little sister than anything. It was a complex system.

Jade was pulling him one way, and he started moving his feet so she didn't suspect anything that was untrue—or, even scarier, what _was_ true.


	14. Wishful Thinking

She watched the way she calmly slid that disgusting white-fur tote bag underneath the plastic blue chair she was perched upon. She couldn't stand her at all, and she almost grasped onto her clutch for support until she remembered what had happened with the compact.

She quickly put that into the pocket of her lightweight bomber jacket. Still, she couldn't help but wish she was Sikowitz so she could chuck all the plastic dodge balls at her as she desired.

_Yikes. _Did she just wish she was _Sikowitz_? She held her head with her hand. She _had_ to start going to sleep earlier.

She looked over at Beck, who was sitting next to her, a perfect piece of art right there, but was looking absently and blankly around the room. She cleared her throat, and he looked down at her. She smiled bashfully—she'd seen Ivory do it more than once, and Beck seemed to like that. Even though she despised her to the core, it didn't mean she couldn't use her techniques.

Beck regarded her oddly, and she shrugged and turned back around. Maybe it was just out of character for her. She'd try to ease it in, though. She made the mental note to do so and watched as Sikowitz stood up from his seat on the floor, brushing off the butt of his polka-dot slacks. Even in the boiling hot weather, he was wearing a thick pin-stripe long-sleeve sweater that was frayed at the sleeves. He was one nutty teacher, maybe even nuttier than Cat and the purple-haired freak.

Sikowitz immediately demanded that everybody split up into teams for some acting exercise she didn't bother to listen to. She watched as her classmates stood up and pointed to some people, some even jumping up and down and screaming like they'd made it to Hollywood on _America Sings_. Cat and Ivory immediately claimed Andre, Rex, and Robbie, and the five of them scuttled off to some corner. Jade watched as Beck waved Tori over, along with a friend of his which she didn't really know. She assumed she was part of the team, too, and she followed them to a table at the far end of the classroom.

Tori began writing down notes with the bright blue feather pen she was always using, her words barely readable, considering each of her letters looked exactly the same—curled and round, making everything look like just a bunch of cursive "o"s. Beck started explaining something, but Jade was only half-listening, picking at the gaping sleeve of her crushed velvet coverlet, the black one that was tied at the waist with a frayed maroon ribbon.

"Jade, are you listening?" Jade felt Beck's hand on her velvet-covered shoulder. She stared up at him impassively, pursing her red-purple lips in thought. "More or less," she said flatly after a short while. Beck sighed, but reached over her shoulders and began stroking her long, pale-brown hair. Today, it was held back slightly in a ponytail with a black silk ribbon, but only because of the heat.

She watched from the table as Robbie set Rex down in a chair, then backed into the seat next to him. Ivory sank down on his lap, and Robbie held her to him by placing his thin fingers around her waist. She was smiling as Andre animatedly described something, and Cat jotted down a rough copy of what he was saying. More likely, though, she'd started writing notes but ended up drawing a picture of a field of bunnies next to some Smurfs and a battlefield.

_Whoa._ Where did _that_ thought come from? Suddenly, Jade felt like she knew Cat a little too much.

Ivory shivered at something, and Robbie let go of her waist long enough to drape his heather gray cardigan around her frame. A gurgle arose in Jade's throat. Those two made her sick. Both were creepier than anything she'd ever seen in her life.

Whatever. As long as she stayed away from Beck, she guessed she didn't have too much of a problem with Ivory. Still, she couldn't help but hate her. It was just something she had to do. Sure, she was happily in love with nerd boy, but there was no such thing as too safe, as she liked to say.


	15. Robarazzi

Ivory had almost finished her breakfast mango when she walked into Hollywood Arts on the second-to-the-last day of school.

"It's embarassing!" Tori cried at her boyfriend, arms folded defensively across her chest. Ivory calmly threw her plastic spoon and mango skin into the garbage can and watched with interest, lurking secretively behind a pillar. "It's what the people want to hear," Robbie insisted.

Tori glared at him before marching off in Ivory's direction. She hurriedly dashed past her and straight to Robbie. "What's going on?" she asked innocently, but stayed arms-length away from him anyways.

"I-it's nothing," he muttered, turning away. Ivory narrowed her eyes and fixed the strap of her new leather tote bag. "It's something," she persisted, following him in her knee-high leather lace-up boots. The thin chain dangling from the waistband of her red plaid skinny jeans jangled against her hip. "What aren't you telling me?"

Robbie watched her as she spun the dial to her locker, running his hand gently across the mural of magazine cut-outs she had constructed on the door. She put one hand on her history book, but turned to him before she got it out.

He fidgeted before blurting out, "Robarazzi."

She cocked her head confusedly. "Huh?" She carefully tore off the tie-dye book cover, then pocketed the textbook. "My online blog," he explained. "I posted something about Tori, and she's kind of upset." Ivory shrugged, smoothing out her black tank top. "It can't be that bad," she assured him, shaking her head. Her purple bangs fell in front of her eyes. He pursed his lips. She tensed, pulling her hair away. "Robbie," she began slowly. "What did you say?"

"I kind of shot footage of her squeezing a pimple," he responded in the same pace. Ivory's mouth dropped open. "Robbie, that's horrible!" she exclaimed, slamming her locker shut. A cut out of Ashton Kutcher fluttered to the floor, and she quickly picked it up and fastened it back securely with a piece of hot pink duct tape. She then turned back to Robbie, fury blazing with white heat. "Ivory, you don't understand," he sputtered, repeating exactly what he said to Tori. "It's what the people wanna hear!"

"Robbie, _you_ don't understand!" she cried. She headed off in the opposite direction, tote bag flying behind her as she dragged it along. "I am so mad!" she muttered. Beck flanked her almost immediately, and she yelped. "You think _you're_ mad," he replied, accompanying her to the drama classroom. "Why?" she demanded, settling down into her usual chair. She pulled her bag off and pushed it between her feet. "Did _he _post something about you, too?" Beck slid into the seat next to her, where Robbie usually sat. _Good_. "Naturally," he responded, and Ivory waited patiently for him to say what it was, but he didn't continue. She let it drop.

"Did he say something about me?" she asked quietly. Beck shrugged. "Might have." Ivory cracked her knuckles, nostrils flaring. She felt his flannel-covered arm slide around her quickly. "But I'm pretty certain that he didn't," he said soothingly.

Ivory smiled gratefully at the boy, and he gave her his usual half-smile, and everything was right for a fraction of a second before a wide shadow overcame them both. Beck greeted that with a confused look upwards, but Ivory didn't have to do anything to know who the shadow belonged to. She clamped her eyes shut and tensed underneath his arm, which he slowly drew back. "That rumor, by the way, about Beck and I breaking up," Jade hissed, leaning down to Ivory's shoulder, "wasn't true." She smiled nastily, the corners of her mouth dripping with poison, and squeezed Ivory's other shoulder briefly with her pale hand before taking Beck's arm and bringing him elsewhere.

Ivory watched him as he disappeared with Jade to the other end of the classroom, and sighed, taking the purse from in between her feet and putting it where Beck had sat. She wondered for a quarter of a moment, what it would be like if she was with Beck, and not _Robarazzi_. She shuddered at the thought of him, and tried not to think of anybody else. She noticed Sikowitz crouching in from the back door with another plastic dodgeball, but upon seeing Ivory's- or Rebecca's, as he so dearly called her -lax mood, he turned lithely and hurled it at Cat's back instead. She screamed and fell back, and Sikowitz laughed, beginning class just as Robbie and Rex arrived.

He immediately made a beeline for the chair beside Ivory, but saw the purse and halted. Still, he hovered, kneeing the chair lightly as to get Ivory's attention, which was still firmly affixed on the ambling teacher onstage. "Robbie, park it," he ordered, picking a spot on the left side of the stage. "Ivory!" Robbie hissed, but Ivory swung her legs over her bag, sticking her the leather toes of her boots in his face. She propped her elbow up on the back of her chair and stared up at him past her bangs, raising an eyebrow at curling her lips. "Somebody's in trouuu-ble," Rex singsonged, but Ivory just kept staring. Robbie stared back, flustered, but plopped down in front next to Sinjin van Cleef.

Sikowitz brushed out the T-Shirt he was wearing underneath a polka-dot windbreaker. The T-Shirt advertised Cancun, Mexico, but the likelihood of Sikowitz having enough money or the attention span to buy a ticket to Cancun was slim. "Now, before we begin, I would like to ask..." He paused and turned to Ivory, and she quickly pulled her feet off of the chair. "Is there something wrong with Rebecca?"

Robbie turned in his chair to look at her questioningly, and she shot him a wide-eyed glance before twisting around to see if anybody had anything to say. The classroom was silent until Jade answered flatly, "Yes." Sikowitz looked at her expectantly, as if she had a plausible explanation, but Jade just shook her head at him. Sikowitz clapped his dusty, callused hands together and began class.

* * *

Robbie found her perched at her usual spot during lunch- on top of the low, cement wall the housed in a wide flowerbed. Ivory didn't like the spot because it attracted bees, but she was extremely fond of flowers, so she made do. A yellow napkin was unfolded beside her, holding a plastic plate of spaghetti and a juicebox. Her legs were crossed at the ankle, and she was looking around the outdoor cafeteria, eyes shaded by her violet bangs. He headed directly for her, and she definitely saw him, but just took a swig of the juicebox and looked crossly in the direction of the parking lot.

"Don't just nonchalantly sip your juice," he commanded. "Talk to me." He softened and put Rex down next to her. "Why are you so mad at me?" Ivory just stared down at the puppet with disgust, and Robbie threw his hands up in exasparation. "What now?" "What about him?" She pointed a finger accusingly at Rex. "Is he a, 'Robarazzi' too?" Robbie rolled his eyes. "Is that what this is about?" He took Rex back. "Is that why you're so mad?" "Obviouly!" Ivory roared. "It's wrong and demeaning!" "What am I supposed to do, Ivory?" he asked.

Ivory narrowed her eyes, and Robbie waited, tapping his foot. She took a deep, shuddery breath, and started packing up her lunch hastily, even though the spaghetti was only half-consumed. "What are you doing?" he demanded. "What are _you_ doing?" she hissed back at him. She spiked the lunch into a garbage can and grabbed her purse, knocking Rex off of the wall. "Tell me when you figure it out, Robbie," she muttered, pushing him out of the way.


	16. Confidence

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"Thanks for dinner, Mom." Beck pushed his chair back as Consuela grabbed his marinara sauce-stained plate away from the table. "Thanks, Consuela." "De nada!" the tiny Spanish housekeeper chirped as she brought the plate to the kitchen. "Are you sure you don't want dessert, sweety?" Mrs. Oliver asked, putting her napkin on the table. Beck shook his head, standing up. "I'm fine, Mom." "Have a good night, then," Mr. Oliver nodded, and Beck nodded back, heading to the foyer.

The first thing he noticed when he got outside was how crisp the night air was. The deep blue sky held a handful of stars, and the night was surprisingly quiet for someone who lived in Los Angeles. Though he wasn't the type of guy who would do so, he decided to stay outside and just enjoy it, and he picked a spot on the driveway and sat down. He leaned back, propped on the palms of his hands. The gravel dug into his skin, but he didn't mind. It was somewhat relieving.

It was a few minutes before the silence was broken by the sound of grass being rustled. He looked around nervously, pushing the sleeves of his black blazer up to his elbows. "Who's there?" he asked warningly, leaning on his hip to the right. Suddenly, a tiny figure emerged. It was a girl, and a light gray canvas bag swung from her naturally olive-skinned shoulder. Her purple boardshorts were accented with silver studs, and the tank top she wore was magenta and skin-tight. A few more steps into the light with her gold gladiator sandals, and he immediately recognized the violet in her hair. He relaxed and smiled lightly. "Hey, Ivory."

"Hey," she replied quietly, and she pursed her lips in substitution of a smile. Both hands were curled around the bag strap slightly, and she removed a few fingers in lieu of a wave. She seemed distracted, and Beck gestured to the RV. An episode of iCarly that he'd left on was still playing, and you could hear Carly's voice carry out softly into the driveway. "Let's go inside." Ivory nodded, eyes cast down at her dark pink toenails, and Beck canvassed her a bit before opening the door. "After you," he grinned, and she shuffled into the vehicle.

Beck climbed in himself, shut the door, and sat down on his couch. She circled the RV once, and he watched her, before she spun around on her heel, an unreadable expression crossing her face. "You're probably wondering why I'm here," she said. Beck spread his arms. "It's a nice surprise, really, but yes."

Ivory turned away unsmilingly and slowly peeled her bag off, putting it on a table. Such a long time passed that Beck wondered if she'd forgotten why she'd come, and he was about to ask when suddenly she drew in a sharp breath and slowly pronounced, "I, broke up with Robbie."

He brightened. "Really?" She spun around in confusion, and he fixed his facial expression into that of concern. "Really," he breathed, putting his chin in his hand. She closed her eyes and made a weird smile-thing, probably contemplating what his excitement entailed, but continued, curling her hands into a fist in front of her stomach as she crossed over to the other end of the RV. "Yeah," she whispered after another long while, and without asking, she took a drink from the counter, neglecting to look at what it was.

She turned back to Beck, leaning against the wall with the drink raised to her mouth. Her other arm was crossed over her body, supporting her elbow like the drink was too heavy to hold with one. She was squinting at him, and her mouth was raised in the ghost of a smile, but he could tell that it was forced. She thoughtfully sipped the liquid and waited a couple more heartbeats before continuing. "I mean, if someone is willing to degrade his friends just for popularity," she murmured, "he's not right for me." She cast a sidelong glance at him, but he couldn't decipher what it meant.

Beck pulled his blazer off and rolled it into a ball, putting it beside him and getting up to join her in the corner. "Well, I'm sorry that things didn't work out between you two," he said sincerely, putting his thumbs into the pockets of his skinny jeans like he always did. "I know how much he meant to you." He hesitated, then said, "And, how much you meant to him." Ivory sighed, lowering the drink and suddenly becoming very interested in Beck's shoe. "Yeah, well." She put the drink down. "Not anymore." She looked up at him, and he looked back. "If I can find a better guy, though, then that would be cool."

Beck smirked softly, putting a hand on her shoulder and rubbing it gently with his thumb. "Way cool," he agreed in a whisper. He stared at his thumb for a minute, slowing its pace with every second that passed, before daring to look back at her. She seemed to have the same idea that he did, familiar mischief dancing in her brown orbs. She took his angular chin in her nimble fingers, canvassed his face, and stood up on her small toes to reach his lips. Obediently, he kissed her back, and he quietly moved her against the window. And the only thing they knew was that the moment was just too right.

What would've been useful to know, though, was that Jade was standing in the driveway at the moment. And that she had seen the whole thing happen.


	17. Remorse and Rage

_Could we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? I could really use a wish right now. _

The latest _Robarazzi _video Robbie had had on ended, and the screen faded to black as two options for new videos flashed onscreen. He sighed and hit the 'escape' key, exiting full-screen mode.

"What did I do, Rex?" he asked the puppet softly, but as always, he didn't get an answer. A real answer that he could take to heart. He could still hear the words echoing in his mind like her voice was playing on a CD somewhere in his bedroom. He had the whole conversation memorized, like fangirls had that one vampire movie _Moonlight _pretty much programmed in their bodies.

The doorbell had rang loud and clear into the Shapiro household, but Robbie hadn't moved, too absorbed in reviewing the new footage he'd caught for _Robarazzi_. He heard a few muffled voices downstairs, then footsteps heading upwards on the carpeted staircase, and in a few seconds, she was in his doorway. She'd probably come to apologize for her behavior, but that was long forgiven, and he was moving forward already. "Ivory," he said excitedly, putting his video camera aside. "You have to see this." "Robbie, I don't intend on staying long, so let me talk," she said in a stone-cold voice. Only now did he notice that her eyes were rimmed with red, and he walked closer in concern. "Ivory, is something wr- why did you just step back?"

She was pressed against the wall in the hallway, mouth wavering like he was going to hurt her. He didn't understand, but he pulled back, looking at her searchingly. She hesitantly came back inside, brushing out her school clothes as she closed the bedroom door. "Robbie," she whispered after some time passed. She ducked her head, like she was ashamed of something. _So this _is _an apology, _he thought righteously.

She put her hand against her face, then pulled it back, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Robbie," she breathed again. She pursed her lips and shook out her hands, before saying the five words that shattered his life.

"_I'm breaking up with you_."

Her eyes were still glassy with tears, but none of them fell. Her mouth was curled slightly, and her hand was gripping the back of his plush gray spinny chair so tightly that her knuckles whitened. She loved that chair. Robbie stared at her, mouth open, not knowing what to say. The words finally came out when she turned to leave. "You're not serious."

She kept going, and there was nothing he could do to stop her.

And now, he was here in his bedroom, all alone with the exception of a puppet and his dumb webshow. This was not how it was supposed to end. It was supposed to end, when they were in their nineties watching the stupid sunset in a white porch swing.

He let out a low growl before picking up his silver video camera and chucking it at Rex. It ricocheted off his plastic face, and both objects fell to the carpeted floor.

_So, what now?_ He stared at the fallen items, hands clenched in fists on either side of him, his mouth pursed as he blinked back hot tears.

* * *

Tori was surfing the web on her laptop when her sister trotted in, a smug smile on her face. "Here we go," she muttered, and she closed her laptop halfway and looked up at Trina expectantly. Trina kept staring at her with that stupid smile, and so she prompted, "Yes?"

Trina squealed, motioning to her neck. Her chocolate locks bounced on her shoulders as she skitted over in a pair of yellow sandals that no doubt cost a fortune. How she manipulated their mother to spend that much money on her, Tori didn't know. Oh wait, she did- because her mother was just as airheaded as her sister. Sure, she loved her mom, but it wasn't like she was the brightest crayon in the box or anything. The only reason she hasn't gone bankrupt is because of Mr. Vega- now how he kept enough money in the bank system was a mystery.

"Do you not notice?" Trina asked, bouncing around in a circle. Tori canvassed her and wrinkled the nose she and her sister shared. "Notice what?" Trina stopped bouncing and looked at her, shoulders and mouth dropped. What was there to notice?

"The scarf!" Trina announced after a few more seconds, shaking the dusty rose scarf around her neck. Tori blinked. "It's from Fazzini!" her sister continued. Tori forced a loose smile and opened her laptop again. "Yeah... great..." she murmured. "Trina, look, it's a man arguing with a squirrel!" She laughed and played the video Andre had just sent her. "Look at it. Its tail is all bushy." "Squirrels are dirty, Tori," Trina whined, clucking her tongue disapprovingly. Tori just stared at the video. Trina rolled her eyes. "Ugh. If you knew high-fashion, maybe you'd understand me just a little better." She then hopped upstairs, just as the doorbell rang and the video ended.

"Get it," Trina called from upstairs. Her bedroom door slammed. Tori rolled her eyes and scooted away from the table, striding over to the door.

Jade stood there, her knuckles milk white as she angrily held onto the thin strap of a black leather hobo bag. Her nostrils flared, her eyes were widened with fury, and her face was pinched up in rage. Still, Tori couldn't help but poke fun, even if it did further increase the likelihood of Death-by-Jade. "I'm sensing deja vu here," Tori joked, but Jade just brushed past her and threw her purse onto the red sofa. Tori sighed and closed her door. "One of these days, Jade, you're gunna have to ask before you enter my house."

When she turned around, Jade was wielding one of the decorative throw pillows over her head. "Jade?" Tori neared her, but as soon as she was within three feet of the girl, Jade started ambushing her with the pillow. "Beck loves me, _you said_," she growled, and Tori yelped as she struck her head. Even with a pillow, Jade's fist was behind all the feathers and silk. "Beck's never gana break up with me, _you said_." "Jade, stop!" Tori cried, and Jade threw the pillow across the room. It hit a vase of flowers, but luckily, it didn't move too far.

"And he didn't, did he?" Tori asked, moving away from Jade. Jade started towards her again with her purse, but she threateningly held up her pointer finger. "My dad's a cop," she reminded her, and the other girl moved away and put the purse back down on the table. She then marched to the kitchen and sat down in front of Tori's computer. Tori immediately ran over and protectively hid it away from Jade. Jade already ruined her grandmother's pillow, one more object _would_ hurt. "What's this all about?" Tori pressed.

Jade was silent, fuming quietly, until she exploded. "Do you want to explain," she hissed, "why I caught Ivory and Beck sucking faces in his RV?" Tori's eyes widened, and she moved her mouth around, trying to find a word to say to that. She sputtered a few syllables, but Jade just took her purse and started for the door again. "Yeah, I knew you wouldn't," she muttered. "Jade," Tori called, reaching out to her as she stood up.

Jade spun around, her hand on the doorhandle. "WHAT?" she boomed. Tori froze, hand outstretched slightly. "Do you want to tell me, 'sorry'?" she asked in a low voice. "Do you want to tell me that I'll find somebody better?" She waited for Tori's reply, but she just stood and said nothing. "Because you're not sorry," Jade continued in barely a whisper. "And I doubt he or that _bitch_ is sorry either." "Jade, you don't-" "_Shut it, _Vega."

Jade opened the door, and the night breeze wafted in. "He didn't _look _sorry," she muttered. "Do you think that if he was sorry he would just keep kissing her like that?" "Maybe he was drunk," Tori suggested. "Maybe he was just caught up in the moment." "Stop. Making. Excuses for him!" Jade cried. Tori curled her hands around the back of her chair. "I-I'm sorry..."

Jade looked outside the door. "I bet you are," she growled. And with that, she was gone.


	18. Shut Up and Drive

The tension was so thick that you could slice it with a steak knife.

But did anybody bother to tell Andre Harris about that? _Noooo._

He sat down at the usual lunch table at twelve o'clock sharp on the last day of school, humming a song brightly, and started for his French fries. A tan hand reached over to get one, and he slapped it like he always did. "Tori, stop stealing mah fries." Tori giggled in his ear. Andre smirked and looked up and began to deliver the line that always came after that. "Cat, can you please tell-"

But today, there was no Little Red anywhere to tell that to. Or anybody, for that matter. "Tors," he muttered, still looking at the column of air were Cat was supposed to be reading _Sky Store_. Tori took a bite of her sandwich. "Mmm?" "Where, is everybody?"

He looked at Tori, but she pretended not to hear him, looking at the sky like she had never seen it before. "Yes, Tori, I know the clouds are interesting and that sometimes they look like bunnies but I would like my question answered," he said, a little irked. Tori put her sandwich down and looked at him sadly. "Why do_ I _have to be the one to tell you?" she whimpered. "Why am I always the one who tells people things?" she added, a little to herself, before continuing on. "Why can't Beck or Robbie or anybody but me tell you?"

"Because there's nobody here to ask," Andre pointed out, making a sweeping motion with his arm at the empty table. Tori looked down at her sandwich in disappointment. "Are you sure it's not on The Slap?" "Just tell me," Andre said, shaking her a little. "All right, all right!" Tori cried. She rubbed her shoulder. "No need to get shaky." "Sorry," Andre muttered. "Now proceed."

Tori started tearing the crust off of her sandwich, something she always did whenever she had a sandwich. "Ivory kind of broke up with Robbie," she said quietly. "And then she kind of kissed him. And then Jade kind of saw. So then Jade came over to my house and became kind of violent." She paused to rub her head and pout. "She hurt me with a pillow." Andre smiled mischievously. "Pillow fight? I'm sorry I missed _that_." "Andre, shut up." "Sorry."

Andre kept looking at her, a sign that meant "finish up the story." Tori sighed. "So now Beck is kind of there" -she took a moment to point at the east side of the outdoor cafeteria, where Beck sat behind two garbage cans- "Ivory and Cat are kind of over there" -she gestured to the west side, where Ivory was curled up on her wall in Cat's arms- "and Jade's kind of up there." She looked up at the little runway that stretched over the cafeteria, where Jade paced back and forth, warding off Sinjin.

Andre focused on Ivory a little while longer, then looked back at Tori. "Where's Robbie?" Tori thought for a moment. "I don't know," she said after a minute.

* * *

One more minute left in class and she was out of here forever.

Her gaze burnt through her purple bangs and straight to the wall clock hanging above the doorway, where most clocks sat in classrooms. She jiggled her knee so fast that it was dangerous for someone with epilepsy to look at, considering she was wearing lime green leggings under a banana-colored T-Shirt and a cotton-candy pink tank top. Sure, the bright colors reflected anything but her current mood but it was better than doing nothing. She sighed and crossed one black leather Fazzini ankle boot over the other. How long was a minute?

As if on cue, the bell rang, and she immediately jumped out of her chair. Miss Conor was babbling about summer safety, but she hadn't been listening since the first day she attended this class. She got her furry-green-monster backpack off of her chair and made a beeline for the doorway.

The first thing she noticed was Cat standing a little way off from the open door, holding a Fweezy Queen milkshake between her small hands. Ivory threw her a quick glance, but kept walking anyways. The only thing that had been on her mind today was getting the hell out of Hollywood Arts and she intended to keep that her sole goal.

"Ivory!" Cat was calling, and the girl knew she'd hurt her friend in ways only dolphins could understand. But Cat got why she was like this, right? Ivory pinched the bridge of her nose, trying not to cry until she at least got in her car. She spotted the bright red Ford Fiesta almost instantaneously- not to mention the fact it had a trio of anime bees on the side -and ducked into the driver's seat in one swift movement.

Wet mascara flew down her face as she rammed her keys into the ignition. The engine roared to life healthily, and smoothly she pulled out of the parking lot. A group of band members clutching cornets who were waiting to cross gave her the stink eye in the rearview mirror, but she kept spinning the tan-leather wheel until she was out of the parking lot.

Ivory pulled into the street just as a charcoal-black Mercedes roared up behind her. There was something familiar about it, but hard as she tried she couldn't find a memory behind it. She hit the "on" button to the radio and some random DJ's voice carried out into the car.

She sank into the heated leather seat and waited for the light to turn green, peering into rearview mirror to check her makeup. Two watery, black lines were drying on her reddened cheeks. She wasn't the prettiest girl in the universe at the moment, but she didn't think much of it either.

The car behind her honked its horn three times obnoxiously. The light had turned green. Ivory sheepishly moved a little way from the rearview mirror to drive, but not before catching a quick glimpse of the driver behind her.

It was Jade, angrily gripping her black steering wheel so tightly she was surprised it didn't snap. Ivory desperately fumbled around for the accelerator, hoping to gun out of the area before Jade recognized _her_.

Too late. Jade had unbuckled and was already coming around to her side like a traffic cop. Ivory frantically began rolling up her window, but she was no match for Jade's long strides.

"You wanna _drive_, bitch?" Jade growled, lowering her face down to the open window. "Because if you don't, I swear to God that I will slam that Mercedes" -she accusingly pointed her PearTouch at her car like a dagger- "into your pretty little Ford Fiesta."

Her feet slammed down hard against the gravel roads as she marched back to her car. Ivory finished rolling up her window and moved her shaking foot around for the gas pedal. The car moved a few slow inches forward as she tentatively stepped down on it. A few seconds passed as she tried again when suddenly a loud "slam" rang through the cab and the whole car shook violently. Ivory grasped the edges of her seat, gasping and looking around frantically, but there was no further to look.

Jade rammed her car into the bumper of the Fiesta once more, and it shook harder this time, actually moving a few feet to the left. "Jade!" Ivory tried screaming, but it came out in a voice she didn't recognize, one that was hoarse and warped by fear and uncertainty.

The goth screamed a string of cuss words at her before plowing through altogether, speeding away in a straight line in front of everybody else.

Ivory whimpered, stepped on the accelerator, and drove after her.


	19. New Dawn

**okaay. **

**so i know i haven't updated in forever (i'm sorryy D:).**

**but! just a few things before you read this -hand gesture at chapter content-**

**or you don't have to read it.. but don't blame me when you get all confused.**

**ANYWAYS. i'm going to try to update as much as i can in the next two weeks because.. im going to the philippines on july 15!  
like you care. hahahah.**

**okay. just an author's note. (: okay. peace! have fun reading.**

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He finally dialed her number around the eleventh day of summer.

The phone rung and rung and even went to her voice message, but right before the "beep", she picked up. "Hello?" she asked flatly. He gulped. He could hear the TV going on in the background.

He was about to hang up when he heard a sigh, followed by a drawn out, "Robbie, I know that's you. I have caller ID."

Robbie stood up straighter, as if she was in the room. "Oh." Two heartbeats passed, then three, then three more. He opened his mouth to speak. "Why are you calling this number?" she cut off, rather icily.

His shoulders sunk. He knew she wouldn't be over what he'd done, but he hadn't expected her to still be this bitter. "I'm sorry," he blurted out.

The TV shut off on her end, and some muffled voices emanated from somewhere far away.

It seemed like eons until she finally replied. "It's okay," she muttered, pretty begrudgingly. But acceptance was acceptance, wasn't it?

Robbie breathed a breath of relief. "Thank you, so much," he gushed breathlessly. She snorted. "Really. It's no big deal." She sighed, too. "I guess I overreacted..." Her voice trailed off into her next words. "Anyways, what I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry, too."

Robbie grinned. Things were finally going his way again. Pretty slowly, but his way nonetheless. He thought for a while about what to say. One wrong move and it could shatter their relationship all over again. It was too fragile right now to just say anything he wanted to.

"How've you been?" he asked quietly after some thinking. "How's your summer been?" "Ehh," she hummed. He could almost picture her shrugging one shoulder as she stretched out a hand to change the channel with one of her many clickers. "My summer? Placid. Myself?..." She let out a shuddery breath. "Jumbled. I've been better."

He nodded quietly. "You?" she asked.

Robbie took a swig from his caffeine-free Mocha-Cola. Caffeine made him vibrate, and though he admitted it was good sometimes, vibrating wasn't the best thing to do right now. "Loads better now," he said, breaking out into a wide grin.

She laughed half-heartedly. "Ha. That's good."

He couldn't help but notice there was something off about her. But he just brushed it off without a word and continued on. "Any big plans for the rest of the vacation?" he asked, wondering how they'd let things go so awkward between them. It was so unlike what they'd had before. Ivory used to be such a vibrant soul.

Now, talking to her was pretty much the equivalent of talking to a wall. Still, he was determined to break through to the girl he'd once known. And he would- eventually. She couldn't be like this forever, right? There was just no way.

At least, that's what he willed himself to believe.

"Not that I know of," Ivory replied in the same monotonous tone as she'd adopted since the beginning of the conversation. "For all I know, the units could pack up my brothers and go skeddadling across the the country and not even notice my absence."

The boy forced laughter. Her humor, along with her attitude, had darkened. What had he missed?

He moved his Palm Treo from one hand to the other, pressing it lightly against the side of his head. "So, are you doing anything tonight?"

Fabric ruffled on her end of the line. "No," she mumbled curtly.

"Oh." Robbie adjusted his glasses. "Maybe we could go to the Groovy Smoothie for some... well... you know..." He squirmed uncomfortably. "...Smoothies..."

Ivory was silent for a little. Robbie checked the screen of his phone to be sure that the call didn't disconnect or anything. Yup. She was still intact.

"Oh," she said, less than enthusiastic. Robbie gulped. Too soon? "I was thinking that maybe I could just hang around the house with my brothers for a while," she admitted.

"That's cool, too," Robbie assured her. "I'm free this entire week. Whataya say? Tomorrow evening?"

Ivory scratched her head. "I'm going out with Beck tomorrow evening," she informed him in a rushed mumble. Robbie stammered for words. "Dinner, a movie, then... the Groovy Smoothie," she continued.

Robbie pursed his suddenly-parched lips. "Wow," he croaked out. "Sounds nice."

"Well, you know." Something fell far away in Ivory's house. "Your average first date. Nothing special."

Robbie almost dropped his phone. "F-f-first date?" He looked at the screen again. "You can't do that!"

Ivory gasped. "What do you mean, I can't do that?" She "hmph"ed. "Sure I can. He's my boyfriend." "No, no he's not!" Robbie protested, trying to stop the words from coming out of Ivory's mouth. "What about me?" "What _about _you?"

Robbie froze. "You forgave me," he reminded her. "You admitted you overreacted! You said things were fine!" "And they are," Ivory persisted. "But that doesn't guarantee I'm taking you back. I'm with Beck now, Robbie."

With that, she hung up the phone.


	20. Coping

**i wrote this chapter at 11.45 pm.**

**sorry if it sucks lmfao. i love beck though. :)**

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"Beck… Beck, Beck, Beck, I have to go home now."

Ivory resisted Beck's kiss, shoving him away with both of her hands, but audibly giggling as she did so. She was delighted by her new boyfriend, and though she'd been saying that she needed to leave for the past hour, they'd been sitting on the ground of Beck's RV doing nothing but kissing, cuddling, and talking about life.

Her giggling coming to a close, the girl slowly moved her hands from Beck's toned chest to the back of his neck, tucking her forearms underneath a curtain of his black, soft mane of hair as she gave in to his lips. They touched her olive-skinned cheek lightly before pressing oh-so-slightly, like he knew she liked it. "What's one more minute," she decided in a murmur. It was only just a little after eight, and because of the summer, it was still a bit light outside, and she had no idea why her parents would worry.

"Ivory," Beck whispered against her skin. The girl turned her face to look at him, and their noses brushed. Enjoying the feeling, she pushed it forward again so they touched. She smiled in immense satisfaction. "Yes?" she asked just as quietly. Beck leaned forward a little, propping himself up on the side of his forearm and his hip. His legs were crooked at the knee. It was a little how Ivory was sitting, but she towered a little above him for once, as she sat with her weight on the one palm that was digging into the nubby green carpet.

Beck looked up at her with the dark brown eyes that just helped the process of falling in love with him. She giggled and stared back down, pulling her back-to-brown bangs out of her eyes. "Can I tell you something?" he asked, and he took a swig of the girl's environmental-friendly water bottle. Watching him drink from a pink-and-purple recycled plastic bottle made her smile, and she took it back from him to dip her tongue into the liquid. "Alright," she answered before putting her magenta tongue into the water.

Beck hesitated, then put his hand on her knee, which was covered by a stretch of bleached denim. He used his other hand to reach up and pull the water bottle down from her mouth. The smile dissipated when she saw the serious look on his face. "What's wrong?" "Nothing," Beck assured her quickly, sitting upright. He sighed, then pulled his knees to his chest. Ivory gasped quietly, her heart thumping. She got on all fours and crawled closer to him, putting a lock of hair behind her ear. She reached one hand over his shoulder and pulled him closer, leaning in to kiss his ear.

As soon as her lips touched him, he murmured the seven words she'd been anticipating, but fearing at the same time.

"I think I'm in love with you."

Alright, maybe not those words exactly, but the meaning of them nonetheless. Her mouth dropped a little, as she searched his unseeing eyes. Her voice box creaked a little as she tried to find the right words. She'd known her response to this back when they started dating, but now that the time was here… the words had gotten lost in time.

Beck broke out of his frozen reverie to turn and look at her. He opened his lips in concern. "Ivory?" he put his arm around her, draping the other one over his tensed knees.

Ivory turned away a little, but put her hand on his foot. "Beck…" She swallowed and shut her eyes. "You know that I feel the same way." Beck came closer, putting his chin next to hers. "Then please-" "Beck," Ivory muttered. "After everything with Robbie… I just can't…"

Beck clenched his fist at the name of her ex-boyfriend. Ivory cringed as his knuckles cracked next to her ear, and he immediately drew his hand back in apology, using the other to rub her bare shoulder. "I understand," he mumbled after a while, sliding two tan fingers underneath the hot pink strap of her tank top. "But please remember…" He hooked the tip of his middle beneath the skinny, black, lace-trimmed strap of her camisole. He removed it a second later to take her chin, turning her towards him. He looked deep into her eyes.

"Please remember," he repeated, "that I would never hurt you, or upset you, like he did." He looked down at her hand, then slid the pinky not curled around her face into Ivory's fingers. "And someday…" He looked back at her with a sad smile. "…I hope that you can love me, too, and say it." Ivory opened her mouth to speak, but he removed his hand from her face and turned away. "But I won't stop telling you how I feel until then." Beck smiled, a little more to himself than to his girlfriend. "I hope you're okay with that."

Ivory paused, then broke out in a large grin. Beck turned to face her once more, and Ivory grabbed his face with both palms and kissed him forcefully. He lifted his hand to touch her forearm, but she began to stand up.

"I really have to get going now," she whispered, and she walked to the other side of the RV in flip flops to retrieve her black-and-white checkered canvas bag. "I'll drive you home," Beck told her, buttoning the top button of his light gray button-up. Ivory picked at the hem of her black short shorts. "Alright," she chirped, smiling at him in with her pink, glossed lips. "I'll be waiting outside."

Beck blew her a kiss, uncharacteristic of him, but it felt right. "I'll be out in a second."

Ivory blew a kiss back, stood there for a little, probably recollecting her thoughts, and then bounded out of the vehicle.

Beck stood to leave, brushing off his skinny jeans, and grabbed his keys, just as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took out the device from F-Mobile and checked the screen. His smile and heart froze as he read who the sender was.

**One new text message from JADE.**


	21. Fireworks and Sparks

**this is another sloppy one. _ i'm sorry..**

**but i wanted to keep things going ahaha..**

**have fun.**

**-throws confetti and leaves-**

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The sight wasn't one you'd see every day.

A skinny boy with a messy crown of curly hair and a ventriloquist dummy, accompanied by an exuberated girl with hair the color of cherry Kool-Aid. Coincidentally, the drink was being clutched in her hand, and it spilled over her alabaster fingers as she skipped alongside the boy. Still, she seemed happy, and just sucked the juice off of her hand with every few steps.

Robbie hadn't gotten to see much of anybody that summer, with Cat as an exception. She bugged him at least once a week to get out of the house, and secretly, he loved that a girl still cared about him that much. And the heartbreak of Ivory getting with another guy still hurt immensely, but less so as the minutes passed with Cat. Of course, he would never see Cat as anything but a little sister, but her company was still very much appreciated, and he showed it to her by buying her the Kool-Aid.

The duo had just finished their dinner at B.F. Wang's, and were now strolling up and down Sunset Boulevard in boredom. Robbie looked over at Cat, who had stopped her skipping and was now moving her feet in such a way that they didn't touch any cracks on the sidewalk. He could almost smell the stares of bystanders angled at her, but he was used to it, having been her friend ever since his first year at Hollywood Arts.

"What do you want to do now?" he asked. It was probably about 8:30, and the sun was just beginning to go down. There was still time left in the evening.

Cat stopped fidgeting long enough to stand pointedly in front of Robbie and proclaim, "I wanna go see the fireworks."

It was already a few days after the Fourth of July, and all the major pyrotechnics had tapered off even before then, but people still stood around at amusement parks or Venice Beach and shot off some as they pleased. Personally, they made Robbie nervous, but he knew that if he didn't get Cat to the fireworks, she'd throw a fit until she saw a picture of a baby bunny.

"Alright," Robbie decided, and they changed directions to go back to Robbie's car.

Cat was much like Ivory in more ways than one. They were both immensely bubbly, and their voices struck thoughts of a baby's laughter or a basket full of kittens and puppies. The fact that they were pretty much soul sisters was another. But the remembrance of Ivory just worsened his heartache, which further complicated spending time with Cat. And it wasn't like Cat was a doorway back to his relationship with Ivory.

But he knew that if he didn't get out of the house sometime, he never would. And so he was thankful for Cat Valentine and her persistence to make all of her friends happy, even Jade, who, in short, didn't think of anybody as a friend. But she didn't seem to hate Cat quite as much, mainly because Cat was more annoying when sad than happy, and the spectacle was quite a sweet one.

On the other had, the thought of spending the whole summer with Cat wasn't one he liked to entertain. It sent a message- that he wasn't popular enough to do anything but spend time with someone who insisted that they do, that he was too pathetic to do anything but _wait_ for someone to invite him along. But then again, what choice did he have? Andre was spending the summer with his fear-plagued grandmother, and hanging out with Beck was out of the question. He supposed there was Tori, who had all but forgotten about the _Robarazzi _incident, but she and her family were vacationing in Puerto Rico to visit some cousins of theirs.

So basically, that left Cat and Rex.

Cat's family was in Idaho right now, and Cat had spent a week holed up being more than just a little bit sad about missing a vacation in the home of her favorite food, but ever since her family forgot her on the side of the road during another vacation, she was paranoid that she'd wind up being abandoned again.

"Robbie! Robbie! There it is! Pull over!"

Robbie snapped out of his thoughts at the excited voice the redhead, and pulled into a parking spot. Cat barely waited for it stop as she shoved the door open and jumped out. Robbie joined her on the other side to make sure she was safe, then escorted her to the beach shore to watch the fireworks.

He watched the fireworks for about a minute before he started to get clammy. He turned to Cat then, watching her face glow as the colors dancing on her face differed. Each time a firework changed, her face dimmed for a second before lighting up with another color. It was enough for even Jade to exclaim in pleasure.

Cat smiled and turned to Robbie. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

Robbie slowly reached out and took Cat's hand in his. "Yes," he murmured.

Cat looked down at their intertwined hands, gaping a little. "Robbie-"

Robbie cut her off by leaning in and kissing her.


	22. Suspension

"Robbie, get off of me!"

Cat slapped her hand across the boy's face, wrenching the other one away from his grip. She glared at him through a few thick strands of her bright red tresses. "How dare you!" she sputtered at him. "You're my best friend's ex-boyfriend! That's like… illegal!" She stomped off, her face just as red as her hair.

A string of made-up swear words tumbled out of her heart-shaped lips as she hailed down a taxi. _What a pig, _Cat thought, getting into the backseat of the yellow car.

Secretly, though, she was thrilled.

* * *

_Oh God, I did the wrong thing, to the right girl. My mind was in it only for a minute._

Robbie splashed his face with cold water, gripping the sides of the white sink for support. He checked himself in the rectangular bathroom mirror, but found that his multiple attempts to remove the small, salmon-colored handprint that stood out on his alabaster complexion had failed altogether. He sighed, dried his face with a dark blue hand towel, and slid his glasses on again. He then took the plain red T-Shirt sitting on the side of the bath tub and pulled it over his head. He turned the fluorescent lights off and exited the bathroom.

He regretted kissing Cat with an immensity so great that it burned his insides. But what's more, Robbie regretted everything that happened with Ivory more. He knew that no matter what he was thinking about, everything would always crack back down to Ivory, but it was the truth, and the truth hurt. He could scream if he could, but he didn't need his parents or Mamaw getting into his business. His mother and father would no doubt pepper him with questions, as to why he and Ivory had broken up in the first place, and Mamaw would probably mutter sentences that ended with "I told you so."

Well, he wished someone had told him so before any of all of this.

* * *

Ivory watched the door to Beck's RV, anticipating Beck to emerge any minute. She was starting to get worried. How long did it take a guy to get his car keys? _Maybe he lost them, _Ivory mused. That was so like Beck. He was calm and organized, but not too calm and organized that he didn't lose his things. Maybe not as often as Ivory did, but he lost things nonetheless.

* * *

Beck stared at his cell phone in disbelief. Jade hadn't talked to him ever since word got out about the kiss he and Ivory had shared in the RV after the big breakup with Robbie. They hadn't broken up officially, but he just assumed they were by the way Jade flipped him off every time she walked by. He could only imagine what she'd done to Ivory- and though she was still living, he didn't like to.

Still, it wasn't likely of Jade to actually go through with her death threats. And what was the worst she could do over a text message? But even with these thoughts, he still couldn't bring himself to open it up.

Suddenly, his phone started blaring "I Like the Ones" by Austin Gibbs. The sudden noise made him startle, but after realizing it was just the ring tone Ivory had chosen for herself, he calmed down and clicked the "answer" button.

"Are you lost or something?" the girl giggled on the other end of the phone. Beck crossed over to the window near the door and peered out. Sure enough, Ivory was leaning against his truck, Nexus One to her ear as she stared at nothing with a giant smile on her face. He knew she couldn't see him- since his RV had originally belonged to Fat Biscuit, the windows were bulletproof and tinted.

"Yes, I'm lost in your eyes," Beck over annunciated, and smiled mischievously as she let out a squeal. He knew she detested cheesy pick-up lines more than anything, and therefore sprung them on her whenever possible.

"Well, hurry up or my father's going to make sure you've _lost _an eye," Ivory said, and with that, she hung up.

Beck sighed and looked at the cell phone.

_I'll read the text after Ivory gets home, _Beck decided. He tucked the phone in the back pocket of his skinny jeans and joined his girlfriend out in the driveway.


	23. Text Message

**im not happy with the beginning of this chapter, or the fact that i keep updating every second haha but like i said, i'm leaving soon and i don't know how often i'll be able to update. so yeah. read and comment:D**

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"Robbie, sweetheart, can you get the door?"

Robbie looked up from his laptop to see his mother watching him over her shoulder as she washed the dishes, giving him a look that warned an early demise if he dared to tell her that he'd do it later. Robbie nodded and pushed himself away from the table, careful to not knock Rex over, and exited the kitchen. The doorbell rang twice more before he got to the door, and he guessed that it was just his Mamaw again, only to be horribly mistaken as soon as the white piece of wood that separated his household from the outside was flung open.

Jade stood there, black fingernails tapping on the side paneling of his house, her blazing hazel eyes rimmed with red as she stared incriminatingly at him. "Whatever you're here for, Jade, I swear I didn't do it," Robbie pleaded, putting his hands out in front of him. Jade shook her head, her mouth curling as she swatted his digits away. "Calm down," she said, her voice thick in the aftermath of a violent cry. "I don't want to be seen here, so just hurry up and let me in."

Robbie immediately obeyed, stepping a good distance out of the way so Jade could march in. He closed the door and joined the girl on the couch. She put her chin in her hands, staring helplessly at him as he sat as far away as possible.

He took a deep breath. "Jade…" His voice trailed off as he looked around. He picked up a copy of _International Geographic, _then traded it in for one of the decorative pillows. He held it in between them before continuing. "Jade, why are you here?" He quickly covered himself with the pillow and waited for the blow of Jade's fist. Three seconds passed, and it didn't come. He peered over the top and saw Jade with her face in her lap, shaking as she sobbed silently into the stretched fabric of her jet black leggings.

He waited for her to answer his question, and when she didn't, he reached over with his pinky. "There, there…" he murmured shakily, tapping her back with the extended finger. "I want Beck back," Jade cried, looking up at Robbie. Her face was a deep shade of red, tainted only by the thin black lines of eyeliner traveling alongside her tears.

Robbie blinked. In all honestly, he had no idea what to say to her statement. If anybody, he thought of himself as the least likely campaign as Jade's love doctor, and he knew for a fact that Tori had played the role a little while back. So, why him this time? The fact that the Vegas were in Puerto Rico wasn't even a legible excuse- Jade would contact someone who was six feet under if he would help her reach her ulterior motive.

"I want Ivory back," Robbie said slowly. "But I don't understand why-" "That's my _point_," Jade stressed. "Our exes are together, right?" Robbie cringed. This particular topic was a delicate one for him. "I'm aware," he muttered. "So I was thinking," Jade annunciated, "that maybe we could think of something." Robbie canvassed the goth. "Alright," he said slowly. "What's your plan?"

Jade fidgeted. "I don't have one." Robbie rubbed his forehead. "But I don't care, I just want to do something!" Jade took a handful of tissues from the box in the center of his white wicker coffee table and dried her eyes with them. After a few minutes of silence, she'd returned to normal, minus the eyeliner. "But anyways, I don't think this should be too hard." Robbie raised an eyebrow at her. Jade spread her arms.

"She already has no interest in you whatsoever, so you've got nothing to lose!"

"…"

"I'm sorry, that came out wrong."

* * *

_I drive an old car. Maybe I'm amazed that I got this far._

The sun was high in the sky around noontime, baking Venice Beach's shore with its bright, July rays. Cat slid out of the passenger seat in Beck's truck, and Ivory followed after her. Beck rolled the windows up before leaving his side of the cab, then locked the car in one swift movement. He opened up his arm as Ivory bounced past, wrapping it around her shoulders despite the heat. Cat was shooting off toward the bathrooms, making Beck smile. He felt a finger on his lips, and, familiar to the gesture, automatically bent down and kissed Ivory's bare lips. One thing he liked about her was that she never wore any lipstick or lip gloss or any lip makeup at all.

"I love you," he reminded her. Ivory stroked his tan cheek, and he relished the feeling. Though he was disappointed that she still hadn't said the same thing back to him, he kept a smile on for her and moved his arm down to grab her hand. Shortly after, Cat rejoined them, and the trio made their way down to the center of the beach. Beck pulled a few folding chairs out of the canvas bag he was holding, and Cat set up a wide, bright red beach umbrella.

Cat sprinted off into the ocean, and Ivory turned to follow her. "You coming?" she asked, jerking her thumb to the cerulean body of water. Beck nodded, unbuttoning his shirt. "Yeah, you go ahead," he said, waving her off. Ivory smiled, then angled upwards to kiss his cheek. She trotted off into the water shortly after, and Beck smiled. He put his shirt on one of the chairs and stood under the shade of the umbrella for a minute, contemplating what the next move was. He turned towards the ocean first, watching Cat and Ivory toss a fairly large beach ball back and forth. The sight made him grin some more, but then he reluctantly reached inside the bag and pulled out his Pear Phone.

The text from Jade still sat inside his inbox, unopened and tempting to open. At the same time, Beck preferred to leave it unopened. More harm than good would no doubt come from his ex-girlfriend's text, and whatever lingered inside frightened him. It was odd- he'd never been afraid of Jade before. But he supposed that it wasn't Jade he was afraid of, per se. He wasn't afraid of Jade hurting him either. Most likely, he was afraid of Jade hurting Ivory.

On the other hand, there was a fifty- well, considering the sender was Jade, forty -percent chance that what was in the message wasn't at all harmful, and maybe she was supporting his desire to befriend her again. It was a hard choice to make, but in the end, he found himself tapping at the text message.

The message slowly unraveled on his screen, and Beck read it once, then a second time, and then a third. Those first three times he thought that he just wasn't reading or understanding the context of the message clearly, so he read them another six times. But no matter how hard he tried, the message didn't change, and neither did the context, which he was grasping more tightly than he had ever grasped anything before.

He reached to reply to the message, but quickly angled his thumb away and hit the "delete" button. The message folded itself up and slid into a tiny garbage can, and it was gone forever. But, he found out as he started for the ocean, that the memory of the message wasn't. He couldn't get those four words out of his head, couldn't stop seeing them everywhere he looked:

_I want you back._


	24. Lovesick

_Thought I kissed your kiss away. Thought I loved your love today. See the things you see my way. Thought I kissed your kiss away. Thought I kissed your kiss away. Thought I loved your love today. See the things you see my way. Thought I kissed your kiss away. But I can't help about thinking when you are away from me, that you are my meant to be. Or am I lovesick, a broken mess? Lovesick; love me any less. Lovesick; kiss my kisses, kiss my kisses away._

It wasn't easy to tell Jade from the rest of the room at first glance. She blended in perfectly with her bedroom, which was a reason why she was holed up here most of the time. Usually she was busy pirating music from ThePiRate, a website she visited so often that it was her home page, or maybe practicing licks on her antique semi-hollow guitar. The thing was so out of tune that it was actually somewhat attractive.

But today, she just sat in the center of the whole mess of her bedroom, cross-legged on the ornate canopy bed. The bay window on the rightmost side of the room was covered up by a sheet of black lace, but hints of the milky white moonlight still poked through and onto the black and dusty rose carpet. That and the giraffe-print lamp on the opposite side of the room were her only sources of light, but since they were too small to light up a whole room, they illuminated only the sides they were on. That left Jade in the darkness, where she liked it, where she preferred to be.

She had her chin in her hands, staring at herself in the square mirror on the wall opposite her, her pale face framed by a border of chiseled gold. The mirror made her feel like a princess, not like she'd admit it to anybody, and she'd been spending the past few minutes staring at herself, trying to evoke the royal feeling again. God knew that she needed to feel that, but it seemed like the magic had worn off.

_I thought I kissed your kiss away. I thought I loved your love today. I can only wish and hope and pray to never kiss your kiss away. I thought I kissed your kiss away. I thought I loved your love today. See the things you see my way, but never kiss my kiss away. But I can't help about thinking when you are away from me, that you are my meant to be. Or am I lovesick, a broken mess? Lovesick; love me any less. Lovesick; kiss my kisses…_

_Lovesick; a broken mess. Lovesick; love me any less. Lovesick; kiss my kisses, kiss my kisses away._

She wasn't crying- no, she'd stopped her childish bawling hours ago, convincing herself that crying was for losers. But it was very easy to tell that this girl was broken, that this girl sitting on the bed and staring at her shattered face in the mirror was crushed into several thousand pieces on the inside. It was tied together with the middle finger she was now extending at herself, and unraveled as she sprawled out on the velvet comforter of the canopy bed.

Another one of Jade's secrets was that she liked to think of herself as a turtle. It was something that she'd never told anybody, because it was just too much on her reputation if they knew that Jade compared herself to a turtle in her spare time. It wasn't because she was slow- she was slow because she just didn't like running. But the reason why she compared herself to a turtle was because she had the hard shell on the outside, one that shielded everything she had to bare, and of course, one that she hid under ever since she'd started comparing herself to turtles. And yet underneath that shell was a person, a person with feelings, with memories, with thoughts. Should that shell be taken away, Jade would be rendered completely vulnerable, unprotected, weak.

Not much unlike how she was now. She was just glad that nobody was around to see her like this.

_Lovesick; a broken mess. Lovesick; love me any less. Lovesick; kiss my kisses, kiss my kisses away._

She supposed that this was partially her fault. She'd driven Beck away in the first place with her enthusiasm to cause pain as much as possible to Ivory. Here she was, feelings bottled up so tightly inside of her that she just wanted to get it out in the open, to talk to Beck about it, when all she did was lunge out at both him and the other girl after seeing them together in Beck's RV.

But it was still only partially her fault. Beck, of course, was the one who kissed Ivory, and had the audacity to not tell Jade about it, to wait until she found out from her stupid schoolmates.

Even so, she was willing to kill to get Beck back, to do anything to rewind it to the happier times.

The silence was piercing her whole being harder than anything that had touched her before. That was what was bothering her- the silence. None of her obnoxious music blasting off in the background, no wacky sounds effects emerging from her computer telling her that she had a new message, and certainly not Beck's voice on the other end of her Pear Phone.

She wasn't used to the silence, even though she'd always treated silence as one of her favorite things in the past. She supposed it was because she had never encountered it before- at least not like this. Not the silence where she knew she wanted it to be silent. The silence she was entertaining now was the silence because she had no choice. Sure, she had friends, a handful of good ones she could actually tolerate. But right now was not the time for friends. Right now was the time for anything but. Right now was the time for lying broken in bed, and she was always one to follow schedules. It was one of the few positive traits she bore.

Jade knew she wasn't a good person. She had her moments, which was what attracted Beck to her in the first place, but she was no saint. She heard this every day from almost every person who acknowledged her. The only person she hadn't heard it from was from Beck, who stood by her whenever, who made her feel more like a princess than the mirror had ever done. That feeling was the thing that kept her up at night, the thing that revived her comatose faith over and over again. It made her hopeful that things would just be better whenever Beck was in her life.

But the feeling was gone, and her faith had slipped back into its unresponsiveness.


	25. Sweet Dreams and Beautiful Nightmares

**superupdates! rahh. haha.**

**anyways.. the first part of the chapter is just the product of zooming around purevolume. **

**and the second is my first experience with all dialogue. it really has no point but i thought it would be cute. if it seems confusing tell me and i'll clear it up haha. but it shouldn't be too hard to follow.**

**if it seems like im making up the story as i go along.. it's because i am. ._. but it's fun to write! and i really like writing this so please don't hate me lol.**

**okay! this is too much blather from me.**

**so yeah. read&rate&comment and all that sparkly shit.**

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_I awoke inside a dream, your face in front of me. I see the sky in different blues. They all look good on you. We'll name the clouds like they're our kids, accumulate over our heads. It goes to show the debts we own are bigger than we stand to owe. So maybe in the end you'll see that in the end, I'll be the one._

He was gana be alone tonight. He didn't expect Cat to call him up and ask him to take her to the festival going on down by the beach, and his expectations proved true. He hadn't received a call nor text or anything that had to do with communication, not even Jade, who'd left his house with both of them clueless as to what to do with Ivory and Beck. Had she stayed longer, they may have come up with at least a rough draft of an idea, but she claimed that she couldn't stand being in his house any longer, and Robbie didn't argue with that logic. Having her inside his house scared him as well, and he was more than happy to show her the way into the foyer.

_If I could write you a song to make you fall in love, I would already have you under my arm._

He was listening to the CD Ivory had given him a week after they'd begun dating. It wasn't the type of thing he usually listened to; a CD that held a compilation of local artists performing at a vegan café Ivory was very fond of. But it did something for him, both torturing and soothing him with the memory of his ex-girlfriend. It made him feel, and that was what mattered the most.

_I won't do what you told me. I won't do what you said I'm not gonna stop feeling. I'm not gonna forget it_

_I don't wanna start over. I don't wanna pretend it you are not my lover, that you're only my friend. Cause when it took my heart, it took it all. When you gave it back, I fell apart._

At the same time, he supposed it would be nice to sleep again. It was something he hadn't done in a while, and if it weren't for Cat's overzealousness then he probably would've spent every night since the breakup just like this; sprawled out on the carpet as he drank in the music more and more as the seconds passed. He recalled that Ivory spent most of her time like this, but that undoubtedly changed with Beck in her life.

_Goodnight, thank you dear I can't sleep again. Got your words in my head on repeat again, looking up at familiar constellations on my ceiling. Maybe it's sad that I know them by heart. _

He hadn't realized how alone he was until he was left alone. It was a feeling that he'd known before Ivory, and it was a feeling he didn't want to go back to. He had friends, but he wasn't the most popular person in school. He was invariably grateful for his companions, though, but the problem was that they were never around. Tori and Andre were closer to each other than they were to the rest of the group, and Robbie assumed himself to be close to Cat, but spending time with her was too hard. You said one thing and it would put her out of place. It was stressful.

_Wake up, by myself think of you again. Got my phone sitting quiet by my side again, waiting for some kind of sign that I'm not alone. Maybe it's sad that I'm not expecting one. How am I so head over heels that all I ever think about is you? And how can you pass your day and not miss me the same way too? I'm scared and I don't know what to do... Hello, nice to see your face again, got your eyes playing tricks on my heart again, feeling like we're still the same as the beginning. Maybe it's sad that I still feel that way._

_

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_

_And if you ever forget how much you mean to me, I will remind you._

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* * *

_

"I think that one's the North Star…"

"Babe, that's just a star."

"Excuse me, I didn't know you were an astrologist."

"But it's not even _bright_. Any idiot can tell that's not the North Star."

"Oh, so now you're calling me an idiot?"

"Maybe."

"Shut up. Besides, it's bright enough to see that it is a star."

"What's your point?"

"You said that it's not bright! It is bright!"

"Alright."

"Apologize! You've hurt it's feelings!"

"…"

"Come on, babe. Apologize."

"I am _not_ apologizing to a star."

"Do you want me to tip this hammock over?"

"Go ahead. It's not like you'll be able- BECK!"

"I caught you. Sheesh, you thought I was serious?"

"_No_, and then you actually started to _tip_ the thing over."

"Well, I'm sorry I scared you. See? _I_ apologized."

"Don't kiss me after mocking me!"

"If you let me kiss you then I'll drop the star thing."

"I'd rather apologize to the star."

"Go ahead then."

"…"

"I get my kiss then."

"Shut up, you Christmas tree."

"Babe, you're doing the peace sign wrong."

"This isn't a peace sign. I left my index finger down for a reason."

"Don't destroy the innocence. Come on, help me find the North Star."

"You _can't. _There are only like seven stars out."

"I swear, you can be so cynical sometimes."

"I'm not being cynical! Count for them yourself! See, there's one… three… ten. Ten stars."

"Ha."

"What?"

"You said seven. There's ten."

"Shut up."

"I love you too."


	26. Breakeven

**i'm back from the philippines. thank you for your patience. :)**

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The days ticked on, and things stayed the same. Cat reluctantly but gradually renewed her friendship with Robbie. At the same time, things were tense and awkward between the two, and they spent more time with their other respective friends than with each other. Jade quit sulking by herself and started sulking with her own gothic group of friends. August came, and then the end of August came, signaling senior year for all of them.

You could easily tell that it was the first day of school when you walked into Hollywood Arts. Everybody was just so prepared. Not at all sluggish like they were towards the median of the school year.

The only obviously painful thing that severed this year from the last was the distance between everybody in the "group," if you could still call it that. Everybody had flocked off with somebody else, and eating lunch together was still to be decided. Jade was definitely ruled out of that possibility, though. Once Jade was out of something, she was out.

Of course, the same rules didn't apply with Beck. Beck hadn't forgotten about her text. How could he? He was practically walking on eggshells for the rest of the summer, half expecting Jade to pop out of the corner and persuade him into dating her again. Now that they were in the same vicinity, avoiding Jade would be a harder feat. There was always that possibility that they had classes together, and who knew- maybe they'd even sit next to each other. Beck was practically hyperventilating at the thought as he walked into the building.

Familiar faces flashed by, faces Beck knew since he was in elementary school. They all smiled at him in greeting, and he lifted his hand back, but he really wasn't close to any of them. He was too busy scanning the halls for people like Tori, or André, or Ivory. He finally recalled the location of her locker, the one with all the magazine cut-outs and the Ashton Kutcher that wouldn't stay on the door. He made a beeline for it immediately.

When he got there, the door was open. Her back was facing him. Sikowitz towered over her small frame, looking down at something she was holding. Confused, Beck approached the two. Sikowitz wasn't saying anything, but neither was Ivory. Rather than unpacking, she was taking things out of her locker and dropping them into a cardboard box. Still, this didn't strike as unusual to Beck. She probably hadn't found the time to get a proper backpack yet. After all, they spent almost every waking moment of their summer together. He didn't recall school supply shopping at all that summer. He usually just found the stuff in his uncle's office as the school year rolled along.

Beck waited for a little, then jumped forward and covered his girlfriend's eyes. "Guess who?"

The sudden movement made Ivory jump a little underneath his hands. Still, she wasn't as fazed as he thought she would be, nor did she turn around with a smile on her round face. She simply batted his hands away dismissively and continued unloading her locker. Sikowitz regarded Beck with slight disapproval, but before Beck could analyze his expression, he looked down into the box again.

Beck squinted his eyes and flanked Sikowitz. "Are you okay, Ivory?" he asked gently. Ivory didn't respond and closed her empty locker. "You seem a little down," he prompted. "Are you sick or so- what are you doing?"

He gaped as she picked off the magazine cut-outs and pink duct tape one by one, dropping them into the box as well. "Ivory?" "I'm leaving Hollywood Arts, alright?" Ivory blurted out. She looked down into the box for a little before handing it to Sikowitz. She pulled the thin strap of her black leather purse over her shoulder before turning on the heel of her charcoal suede boots and making for the exit.

"What?" Beck pushed through the sea of people, keeping a keen eye on the back of the fuzzy gray cardigan his girlfriend was wearing. He finally caught her in the parking lot, next to her car. She was squinting at Beck, either from the sunlight or in irritation. Beck pleaded that it was the former. "What do you mean you're leaving Hollywood Arts?"

"Exactly what it sounds like," Ivory snapped back sarcastically. Beck recoiled. He wasn't used to Ivory being so harsh. Still, he tried to keep his guard up. "I know that," he snarled back. "But _why?_"

Ivory's expression softened, and so did his. She looked away, blinking, then looked back at him. "I've caused too much trouble here, and it was only one month," she said flatly. Beck searched her eyes. "I don't understand…"

"How can you not?" Ivory snorted. There she went again, all sarcastic and whatnot. Beck's brow furrowed. "There was that whole Robbie thing," Ivory muttered. "Think about it, Beck. _I'm _the reason that your group split up." She pursed her lips. "Do you get what I'm saying?"

Beck understood every single word, and yet they were blurring together, making no sense at all. "If I hadn't come here…" Ivory's voice trailed off. She opened her mouth, probably to start again, but Beck cut her off. "Then we wouldn't have met," Beck reminded her softly.

Ivory caught her bottom lip between her teeth. Beck took one of her hands in both of his. "Look, we don't need everybody else," he told her firmly. "We are perfectly fine together." Ivory drew her hand back. Beck stared at it as it swung back and forth at her side listlessly, almost mockingly.

It almost seemed like she was ready to give back in, but suddenly, new darkness flashed across her face. "No, you need to get back out there," Ivory insisted hotly. "You're only in high school, Beck. You can't let your life revolve around me." "I can if it's true love," Beck said haughtily.

Ivory snorted again. "Look how well that's worked out," she spat. "I haven't even said 'I love you' yet, and you're telling me every single day. We're standing here, having this stupid fight, and yet you still admit that your life supposedly revolves around me." Her words stung, and it took all of him took keep his emotions on the inside. He didn't recognize this feeling. He was always the tough guy.

They stood in silence for a while. Beck waited in perfect stillness, staring blankly at the ground, while Ivory tapped her foot and looked around impatiently. Ivory shook her head and set her hands out in front of her. "Look, Beck, maybe this isn't working out," she deadpanned. "Maybe we should just take a break."

Beck snapped back to life. "Ivory, you don't mean that." Ivory threw him a look. Beck stared back helplessly. She shook her head blankly again, then took off in her Beetle.


	27. How to Save a Life

_I wasn't really sure what happened. He just kind of stormed in; really frazzled, those weren't words you used to describe Beck on a daily basis. But now? Those were the only words you could use._

Step one, you say you need to talk. He walks you, say "Sit down, it's just a talk." He smiles politely back at you.

_I was just hanging out with Modessa- she was one of the friends in my "new posse," you could say. It wasn't really a new one anyways. They were there while the "original" group still stood, if you know who I'm talking about. But that's not the point. Still, who uses the word "posse" anymore?_

_Right. Not the point._

You smile politely right on through.

_Modessa had been helping me put some books back into my locker- you could tell it was mine, because I'd covered it with two sheets of black lace. A mural of small portraits I'd made in my spare time hung off of the holes. No one, not even Modessa, knew that I'd been the one who'd made the portraits. Nobody knew I did art in my free time, and I preferred to keep it that way. Not like art would hurt nor help my reputation, but if they didn't need to know, then I didn't need to let them know._

_Some sort of window to your right as he goes left and you stay right between the lines of fear and blame._

_Seeing Beck walk in hurt me- our breakup wasn't the cleanest, after all -and yet, I couldn't stop looking at him. He seemed so disoriented, yet his face announced that he knew exactly what to do._

_And his actions proved what his face was giving away. I continued watching- like a spectator for some sick, twisted, horrible movie. I knew that I had to do something, but what that something was, I had no idea. Modessa was in the middle of talking, and she wouldn't stop. She just wouldn't stop. She was like a talking toy you try out in a toy store. You press its "try me" button and it seems like what they spew out is more than just a try. It seems to go on forever, and you just wanna run away and pretend like you never touched the damn thing. And most of the time, I was ninety percent sure, you do run away. I run away._

_But that was not the case here. I couldn't run away from Modessa for more reasons than one. One, she was just as strong as I was- if someone walked away when I was talking... I couldn't even contemplate the hatred I would feel for that person, and, knowing myself, I would put that hatred immediately into action. Modessa would undoubtedly do the same, considering we've been friends since our childhood, and I'd had that much time to get to know her and her habits. Anger as strong as mine was one of those habits._

_The second reason why I couldn't run away from my Try Me toy was because... I couldn't move. Maybe it was the excitement I felt watching my sick, twisted, horrible movie, or maybe it was the fear and confusion I got out of it. Even though the latter rarely happened, it was happening right now, I was sure of it. Maybe it was a little of both. Maybe it was none of the above. Whatever it was, I wasn't moving anytime soon._

Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend somewhere along in the bitterness. And I would have stayed up with you all night, had I known how to save a life.

_The hallways were slowly emptying, and all the students were slowly trickling into their first classes of the year. Modessa and I probably should have, too, and we were probably unpacking my books deliberately slower than necessary. But I wasn't known for my extreme punctuality anyways, so I supposed I didn't have to worry about anything. Modessa, on the other hand... Modessa saw school more as a hang-out place, less than a "learning sanctuary," as all teachers but one described our little dome of education._

_Go ahead. Guess who that one is._

_If you guessed Sikowitz, then you guessed right._

Let him know that you know best, 'cause after all you do know best. Try to slip past his defense without granting innocence.

_Modessa's lips kept flapping, my eyes kept watching, and Beck's feet kept walking. Actually, that's a lie. "Stumbling" would be a better term to describe how his feet went. Stumble, stumble, stumble, like my drunken uncle every Christmas. He was looking for something, maybe someone. That much wasn't hard to figure out._

_And the fact that he was looking for something intrigued me further, and I kept watching my sick, twisted, horrible movie._

Lay down a list of what is wrong; the things you've told him all along.

_When Beck finally found his someone, something made time slow down. I first saw Robbie knelt down by his locker, Rex sitting happily by his side. He was peering at his schedule over his glasses, trying to memorize it already. Unlike Modessa and I, Robbie was known for his extreme punctuality._

_Anyways, Robbie and Rex were happy, la-dee-da, dee-la-dee, but Beck? Beck was a different matter all completely. He was a different person. He was staring at Robbie in such an anger that I can't even describe. An anger I hadn't seen before, but maybe that was because Beck wasn't known for showing his anger._

_No, that's not it. You know "normal angry" when you see it. This was an angry that you didn't see at all, unless the right thing touches the right nerve at the right time. The whole thing is a domino effect, one emotion and one thought leading to another until the whole thing just collapses._

And pray to God that he hears you.

_The only time that Modessa stopped talking in all of this was when Beck finally snapped, which couldn't have happened much later. But in my slow-mo world? Everything was taking eons to complete._

_Beck started throwing punches and kicks and every single attack imaginable at Robbie, yelling strings of cuss words even I was ashamed to utter. Modessa turned around to watch too, but not out of concern like me. Modessa got a sick, twisted, horrible pleasure out of other people's pain that matched the genre of this sick, twisted, horrible movie._

_You could say I got enjoyment out of other people's pain, too. But not pain like this pain._

_Not pain when I know it's real._

As he begins to raise his voice, you lower yours and grant him one last choice: Drive until you lose the road, or break with the ones you've followed.

_Robbie rolled along the floor like a scrawny little tumbleweed, and what did I do? I watched. I watched as this... possessed person I supposedly once knew attacked a completely innocent person, over and over again. Over and over again, Beck knocked Robbie down. Over and over again, Robbie tried to get up, only to be kicked or punched or slapped once more. Over and over again, Modessa and I watched._

_Only once, Robbie gave up and let Beck beat him around like an old rug._

_But not once did I do anything._

_He will do one of the two things. He will admit to everything, or he'll say he's just not the same._

_It was only then did I know what all of this was about. What motivation was behind Beck's physical and verbal and God knows mental abuse. He stopped hitting the trembling boy long enough to pull away and mutter, in the most ragged, non-Beck voice I have ever heard:_

_"It's all your fault why she broke up with me."_

And you'll begin to wonder why you came.

_He brushed his fists off, and without bothering to help Robbie up, left the school completely. He barely noticed Modessa and I, if at all. Robbie didn't get up at all, but I knew that he was just narrowly alright by his uneven breathing. Modessa turned to me with a sucked-in smile and wide eyes; a look that clearly stated, "Oh, shit."_

_I didn't return it. She rolled her eyes at me, saying with her eyes again, "Fine. Your loss." I turned away._

_She left._

_I closed my locker and went to help Robbie up._

_Because, Beck, it's not his fault that she left._

_It's mine._


	28. Kissing in Cars

_She was always the one._

He lowered himself down onto the hot, metal floor of the runway. Peering down at the cafeteria below him, he could see that all the tables were empty. As they should be, anyways. Classes were starting, even though he wasn't in them. Life was going on without him, as life always did. He let out a trapped moan and forced his legs through the spaces between the bars in the protective gate surrounding the runway.

Then, he curled his long fingers around the bars in front of him, like a child overlooking something that required a gate like this. And, like the child, he overlooked the empty cafeteria. He could picture many memories playing below him, but he forced them away. All the good ones were stabbing the back of his mind, and a migraine was slowly taking place.

_I'll repeat it again: The One._

His dark hair fell over his face, the hair gel that he'd applied to it this morning wiped away clean by a thin layer of sweat. His fists were sore from throwing punches at the boy and his puppet, and his heart pulsated both with anger and guilt. Underneath that was the sheet of grief, the sheet he refused to take out.

_Red lights flashing on the cars we're kissing in._

He slowly uncurled his fingers from the bars and reluctantly pulled his phone out. No new voicemails, no new text messages, no new e-mails- no new signs of communication at all. One half of him was telling him that he was expecting too much, and the other was pressing him to keep conjuring up excuses for her and for himself. And then, there was a little part in the back of his mind that wanted to chuck the cellphone straight to hell.

_It took me back to that day you turned and walked away, and said it's supposed to be this way. _

He was angry. His expression conveyed that. She felt that she was the one who split up the group, he could understand that. And maybe they could've gone past that. But how was trying to understand her _his_ fault? Why did she have to end things all of a sudden like that?

_Technically, Beck, she didn't end things, _something inside him said. _She wanted to take a break. _

He shook his head. There he went again. Making excuses.

But how could he not? There was just too much they'd gone through- Robbie, Jade, "I love you"s, everything. Maybe it wasn't much when you generalized it like that, but when you were actually there to experience each day with each other... that's when things started to matter.

_Then we fell and died away. It's not supposed to be this way. I'm so far from okay._

He supposed one part of him felt for Robbie. After all, she was the one who ended things with him, too. But he tried not to think about that. The night she broke up with him was the night they first kissed.

He didn't like how she moved from one boy to another in the blink of an eye. At the time, maybe he thought it was pretty awesome that she realized he was the right one after all. But now...

Well, maybe now, he was just trying to conjure up more ways not to think too much. Yet all this conjuring just made him think about her more. And if he stopped thinking, who knew what would happen? He'd probably wreak havoc on the whole school the way he did Robbie.

He wondered briefly if Robbie was alright. He hadn't heard an ambulance drive up since he left the school building, so that was a good sign. But he guessed that stayed away from people in general until he simmered down would be best.

But how to get over this was the problem. He didn't want to be the Robbie everybody saw after he and Ivory'd broken up. He was a mess. He supposed not conveying too much would be the best thing to do. And as long as Robbie, Modessa, and Jade kept their mouths shut, he was alright. He knew he sure as hell would.

He heard somebody- probably the janitor -come out into the cafeteria. That was followed by some sweeping sounds. Definitely the janitor. Something in his body tensed up, and he dashed away, not caring who heard his rapid and heavy footsteps on the hollow metal.


	29. I Wish I May

"Hey, Jade, where're you going?"

Spike's combat boots made heavy thumps as he caught up with the goth. He cut in front of her path and moved his hand through his greenish Mohawk. "Lunch just started," he said breathlessly. "Modessa wants to talk to you. Are you going back to class already?"

"If _Modessa_ wants to talk to me, why did you come instead of her?"

Spike moved his hands slowly from his head to one of the many pockets on his baggy black pants. "You know how Modessa is…"

Jade rolled her eyes. She knew how Modessa was more than anybody, even Spike, who had been her best friend's boyfriend for over three years now.

"Well, tell Modessa that whatever she has going on has to wait. I'm in the process of something urgently important at the moment."

Spike raised his eyebrows in confusion. "What's up? You can tell me."

Jade caught her lower lip in between her teeth. Spike had been her friend for a while now—given, not as long as Modessa, but a better friend nonetheless—but this was too private to let get out in the open. God knew that she loved spreading drama, and He also knew that Jade told Spike everything. But now was not the case.

"No, it's fine," she insisted, shaking her head. She put her hand on his shoulder for a brief moment, then brushed past him. "Tell Modessa that I'll be back in a little while."

She strode out into the parking lot and dove for her black Mercedes. Her hands were shaking as she stuffed the key into the ignition, and they were practically vibrating out of control as she turned it. The engine roared to life, and she gunned it, following the line of people heading out elsewhere for lunch as steady as she could.

She turned the corner and continued on her route.

* * *

"Hey, it's… Ivy, right?"

Ivory looked up from her notebook at the sudden voice. A tall, muscular boy with spiked brown hair stared down at her past his dark hazel eyes. His mouth was twisted up into a smirk, just above his angular jaw, and his large but slender fingers were curled around the navy blue backpack strap that was slung over his shoulder. The olive green T-Shirt he wore was wrinkle-free, and his blue jeans were baggy in a non-obnoxious way.

The girl closed her notebook and pulled her long brown hair behind her neck. "Um, it's Ivory, but that's a good guess." She smirked. "My old drama teacher called me Rebecca for a month…" She froze and shook her head. "But, yeah good…" She narrowed her eyes. "Do I know you?"

The boy smiled. "No," he said, pulling the corner of his mouth up some. "I'm new. But you're in my math class." "And apparently, I'm in your English class." Ivory gestured around the room. The boy laughed. "I'm Reed," he said, holding his hand out.

Ivory glanced at it and gave it a sideways high-five. Reed laughed again and dropped his bag on the seat next to hers. Her smile faded as he took out a piece of paper. He started scribbling something on it, and, without looking up, murmured, "So… what do you say… you…" He retracted the pen by jabbing the clicker on his side. "…Call me?" He put the paper on her desk.

Ivory stared at it.

_And oh, I try to fall asleep. I hear the floorboards creak beneath my bed. I pull the sheets over my head. And I, I can't be scared tonight. I need to close my eyes and pretend that all the monsters in my room are my dear friends._

The bell rang, and Reed raised an eyebrow at her before sliding into the chair holding his bag. The bag was pushed off and landed on the tile with a "thump." Ivory looked away and pretended to be absorbed in her friend Mallory's long, low pigtails.

_Oh, I'll never know why I'm still here, why I can't fall asleep to save my life. It's getting late, but I'm not tired. I tried so hard to make my wish at eleven past eleven, and I'll never tell the whole world what my biggest secret is._

"Alright, class, welcome to English. I'm Mr. Appleby." The elderly, plump English teacher put his brown leather briefcase on the long cherry desk and opened up the gold snaps. "Let's get cracking."

_And I want to know what I'll be dreaming of when I get my eyes to close. Someday soon, my secret wish will come true._

_

* * *

_

Jade pulled up in the high school parking lot a good ten minutes later. She checked the car clock before shutting the thing off. There was still thirty minutes left in lunch. If she hurried…

She shook her head and bolted out of her car. There was no time for thinking.

She pushed through the front doors and barreled into the main office. There were two men standing at the counter, filling out some forms for the three secretaries behind the counter. The skinny one with the long, gray hair and purple sweater was chatting away on a beige phone; the plump, short one in the banana yellow was combing out her short, platinum blond hair; and the redhead in the green and pink was watching the forms with intent as they were being filled out.

Jade waited a few seconds before deciding she didn't have the time or patience for all of this. "Move," she commanded bitterly, and she shoved one of the men aside.

"I'm looking for an Ivory Rodriguez," she announced, pronouncing the name loudly and slowly, as though the secretaries were ninety-years-old and practically deaf.

The redhead began to open her mouth, but Jade shook her hands out and continued on. You know, long brown hair, Filipino-Spanish, kinda chubby?" She annunciated her last point by moving her hands up and down in front of her stomach.

The blond one pulled her hands away from her head. "Do you have a visitor's pass, sweet pea?"

Jade lurched over the counter. "_No_, I don't have a stinkin' visitor's pass," she snarled. "This is an emergency." She shook her head. "Look, I promise I won't take long, just give me a copy of her schedule and I'll be on my way."

* * *

"With a show of hands, can I see who knows about antecedents? Alright, good." Mr. Appleby posed the question without turning away from the chalkboard, or even looking over his shoulder to see the hands that were barely raised before he dismissed his proposal.

"Because, my friends, today is centered all around the things." He moved away from the chalkboard, and the word "ANTECEDENT" was scrawled on it in yellow caps and was underlined four times.

Ivory wrote the word on the top line of the first page in her English notebook. She smiled at it. There was something about the first day of school that made everything seem so… fresh. That there was actually hope in starting over.

"Alright, where is she?"

Jade stormed into the classroom, clutching a schedule so tight that her black nails almost punctured it. She scanned the room, mumbling underneath her breath even as Mr. Appleby began reprimanding her about interrupting his class.

Ivory shrunk down in her seat, but her sudden movements, albeit slow, caught Jade's attention. "Ah-ha!" she cried out. "Shut up, old man. This will only take a second."

Jade stomped over to Ivory and towered over her until her whole shadow consumed the girl. Only when she began talking was when Appleby stopped. "Beck is a wreck without you," she said gravely. "And I know we haven't been the best of friends, or even friends for that matter but…" She inhaled sharply. "I care about Beck. And you do too. And he didn't deserve to be dumped like that—he didn't do anything wrong."

She snorted and shook her head. "So you're getting back together with him," she concluded. "I know you want to. And you're also gonna help me look for him, because after that little stunt you pulled?" She glared down at her. "He disappeared off the face of the Earth, and God knows where he is right now." She smacked her right fist into her left palm. "And if you weren't what Beck needs to survive, I would punch your face in because if we can't find him…"

Jade stopped and laughed bitterly. "I'm sorry. Forget that."

Ivory blinked.

Jade grabbed her wrist and pulled a little. Her expression softened.

Ivory looked back at Reed, who was staring desperately at her backpack, where she'd put his number in.

She shook her head and followed Jade out the door.

**okay, i know it looks rushed, and i know it's late, and i know it's pretty bad.**

**BUT! i've had this idea for a while and i needed to get it down. plus i'm sick. :| so please bear with me!**


	30. Lullabies

_Sing me to sleep. I'll see you in my dreams._

The inside of Jade's car reeked of heated leather, roses, and a pine-scented air freshener. The plastic green tree hung from her rearview mirror, behind the silver Crucifix. Both items seemed like they were put there for show—like she was making fun of the typical things found in one's car.

Knowing Jade, Ivory supposed that that was her ulterior motive anyways.

_Waiting to say, "I miss you. I'm so sorry."_

She turned to stare out the stained, tinted window, watching the buildings rush by. God knew what they were both missing on that first day of school, and if her boyfriend hadn't disappeared like this after their messy breakup, maybe her mind would be focused on schoolwork more. But sometimes, things were more important than schoolwork.

_Forever's never seemed so long as when you're around._

"_Well?_" Jade snapped.

Ivory blinked and turned back to her. "_Well_, what?"

Jade violently pulled up to a red light. They both jerked forward for a second before slamming against the black leather seat upholstery. "_Well_, where should we start looking?"

Ivory's eyebrows knitted together. "How am I supposed to know? Don't ask me things right now—I'm under stress!" "And I'm not?" Jade's pale fingers curled viciously around the steering wheel. "I asked you to come with me so you could_ help_. I'm not here to be your _therapist_."

The car lurched to life again as the light turned green, and Ivory ducked her head in embarrassment. "Well, I guess we can only look everywhere," she suggested hurriedly. "He left this morning—he couldn't have gone far."

"What if he took the train?" Jade sputtered. "What if he took the car? The plane?" "Then if we can't find him by the end of the day," Ivory exhaled, "we call the police."

Jade's brow furrowed. "_What?_" "We call the police," Ivory repeated. "If we can't find him, then there isn't anything left that we can do but that."

"You can do that, but I'll keep looking," Jade dismissed. "I didn't say _we_ have to stop looking," Ivory defended. "You didn't exactly _say_ it either," the goth sniped. "Forgive me for assuming." "You're forgiven," Ivory retorted.

Jade growled and put pressure on the accelerator. "He's probably in the last place we'd look," Ivory suggested, trying to get back on her good side. "Well, if we move that place up first, then it wouldn't be the last, now, would it?" Jade grouched. "Then the place we were going to already would be where he was."

It was like one twisted paradox.

_It's like a piece of me is missing._

"L-l-let's stop here," Jade said with a sudden burst of energy. Ivory peered out her window. "Big Bob's Pet Emporium?" She turned to Jade. "And he would be here why?"

"You said to look everywhere," the goth spat, and she took the parking spot nearest the shop. Ivory's eyes widened as she cut off the engine. "Jade, you can't park here. This is a handicapped parking space." "Then I'll kick you in the shins and we'll be as good as gold."

Ivory hurriedly unbuckled her seatbelt. "It's fine, Jade."

_I could have learned so much from you, but what's left now? _

Big Bob's Pet Emporium reeked of pet food and "animal business." It seemed like Jade barely noticed that as she ran through the aisles frantically, much to the dismay of the man at the counter. Ivory admired her determinedness, because Jade did, after all, hate animals and anything to do with animals.

A few minutes later, she dragged herself back to the entrance, where Ivory was still standing. "He's not here," she muttered. Ivory toyed with her hands absently behind her back. "The day's still young," she reminded her. "We have plenty of time to look."

"Well, you're certainly not helping," Jade snapped suddenly. "I tore through every space of this store and you just stood here like a stick."

Ivory's mouth dropped open. "Well, it wouldn't have made a difference. He's not here anyways."

"Then where _is _he?" Jade cried out, pushing her light brown hair back. "That's why we're _looking_, Jade," Ivory hissed. Jade dabbed at the corners of her heavily-made-up eyes with the tip of her black thumbnail. "Then where do we _look?_"

Ivory pulled her cell phone out. "Look," she exhaled, holding the bejeweled Nexus up in front of Jade's face. "Let's just try calling him. Alright?"

Jade nodded and huddled closer to her, watching as she punched his number in on the touch screen. The words "Calling **Beeck(:**" appeared on the screen, and she set her phone on speaker. The phone rung two times before going to voicemail.

Ivory was silent for a while. "He knows it's me," she pronounced out loud, disliking the taste of her words, "and he shut his phone off."

"Look what you've done," Jade retorted. "Now _I_ can't even call him on _my_ phone." She continued pulling at her hair. "At least we know he's alright, right?"

"What are you talking about?"

"He was able to shut off his cell phone. That means he's alright, right?"

"Not necessarily." Ivory tucked her phone back in her back and played with the hem of her cardigan. "What if some gang captured him and forced him into shutting his cell off?" She cleared her throat and looked down at the hem she was ripping up. "Not to be a Debbie Downer or anything…"

"Maybe you're just in denial that he ignored your call," Jade spat. "Well, you can only blame yourself for that. You broke his heart, Ivory."

Ivory sputtered for the right words. "I am _not _in denial. I'd just like to be one step ahead of things." "Well, that's not easy when you're not sure where to step," Jade reminded her bitterly. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"If you'd make a guess," Ivory retorted, and continued speaking before Jade could respond. "_Look_. We're not gonna get anywhere with all this fighting. The best thing we can do is keep looking."

Jade rolled her eyes. "You're just scared that you won't have another comeback…"

"Okay, Jade, do you want to find him or not?"

"Of course I do. Doesn't mean I have to like you."

"Look, Jade, I can tell that cashier who parked in the handicapped space."

"If you'd let me kick your shins…"

"_Jade_."


	31. More than Ever

What was the point?

The sunset glowed orange on his tan face, outlining his mane of black with gold. He felt childish sitting there, but it was freeing, legs dangling off of the yellow monkey bars. He used to do this all the time as a kid, climb up here and sit on it like it was a bench. He remembered that the park used to be packed, but it had since been abandoned. This made it that more freeing, and he'd thought about this multiple times since he'd gotten there.

Beck had been sitting on the monkey bars for such a long time that from the waist down he was numb, but he supposed every other part of him was numb as well. He didn't want to admit it, of course—not to himself, much less anybody else, even though there wasn't anybody within a five mile radius_ to_ tell. But the more he pretended the pain wasn't real, the more he was convinced. He was sure that it would always be there, despite the amount of pretending he was willing to do, but he was up for changing whatever he could.

He hadn't heard another car pull up, but a while later he heard someone screaming out his name. "Beck! Beck!" Over and over, "Beck! Beck!"

He turned halfheartedly, not pleased at all how his serenity had been disrupted. He'd have to start all over again, and it'd already taken him at least seven hours to reach this nirvana.

Jade was trotting up to him, her black boots skidding in the wood chips. They flew up all around her ankles. Beck wondered what she was doing here. He remembered vividly taking her here just around the beginning of their relationship, and he recalled just as fondly her detesting it with every bone in her body. Having loved her, of course, he hadn't minded, just pressed her into kissing him underneath the slides like some cliché romance novel. She had thrown a handful of twigs at his face.

"We were looking everywhere for you," she cried up at him, interrupting his recollections. He didn't respond. _We? _his expression conveyed. There was obviously no one in her company.

She didn't bother answering. He got it.

"She loves you," Jade said, and suddenly she was sitting next to him, her leather-clad feet dangling next to his. Beck didn't bother saying anything to that, either.

She pulled her light brown hair around her like a curtain. He'd known her long enough to know that she was uncomfortable whenever she did that.

"She just can live without you."

"You don't have to tell me that, Jade."

Jade shook her head and squinted against the piercing orange sunset. "That was a lie," she confessed bitterly. "I don't know why I said that, it's probably because… I don't know, I still love you and she doesn't deserve you for treating you like this is what I'm thinking…"

She played with the hem of her black top. Leave it to Jade to be wearing black in this heat. "I'm wrong. She loves you and she _can't _live without you, and I need to move on and stop being the jealous ex." Jade sucked in sharply. "But you know how Ivory is. She overreacts. It's what she does."

She snorted and started twisting the piercing in her eyebrow. Beck turned away. He hated when she did that. She acknowledged that and stopped. "I know, right?" she said, saying his thoughts for him. "Totally unlike me to defend Ivory?"

She let her leather purse drop to the earth below them. Beck followed its path with his eyes. "But I guess things just got put into perspective when you disappeared and all. I care about you, and you still care about me, but you care about _her_ more, and I have to respect that."

Jade scratched the side of her head and moved her right foot a few inches from his left. "But, um, she got a little overwhelmed and went home." She looked at him—rather, his profile, considering he still refused to look at her. "I think you should tell her you're okay. She seemed pretty messed up."

Beck faced her. She offered up a weak smile. He kissed it.

She soaked that in like a sponge for about a second, then looked at him with a look he knew all too well.

"This better not end with a 'It was you all along,'" she spat with a wry smile. "I just changed myself for the better just so you can have your happy-ever-after with your girlfriend."

"I love you, Jade."

"But you're not _in _love with me!"

* * *

"Hey, booger face, dinner's ready."

"I said, I'm not hungry."

Ivory turned around in her computer chair to face Adam, shooting daggers at his brain with her mind.

"Calm down, will you?" He raked his hand through his new side bangs—he'd spent all summer growing them out. Personally, Ivory liked them better than the shaved thing he'd had going on. He'd had this hairstyle before he'd taken Dad's razor and shaved it all off. She'd been meaning to tell him how grateful she was that the bangs were back, but she'd never gotten around to it. It wasn't like she was gonna tell him now.

"I'm recruiting you for dinner, not the war," he continued, and he brushed off the teal V-Neck he was wearing. It was fitted against his skinny figure. "What's up with you, anyways?"

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"Did little Ivy get dumped?" He made kissy noises.

She spun around again. "You're an asshole," she spat.

Adam stopped talking. "I'm sorry," he apologized sincerely. "I shouldn't have said that." "No shit, Sherlock," Ivory snapped. "Just leave me alone."

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

She gave no answer.

He sighed and left the room. The white door shut with a click.

She continued surfing The PiRate, clicking on the blue links to snippets of pirated music before she hit the green download button. She barely listened to the song two seconds before shutting it off and downloading it to her Zac Book. Half of the music she'd pirated she didn't even like—she just needed something to occupy her time.

The doorbell rang. She didn't move.

She heard her mother's muffled voice. Ivory ignored it and keyed her music up louder.

Her phone chimed. She picked it up and scanned the screen. Her home phone number paraded across the screen, and she tightly hit he answer button. "I'm not hungry," she barked into the speaker. "And calling my cell phone with the house phone isn't funny or clever."

"Who said anything about eating?"

The voice that replied wasn't one that belonged to any of her family members. There was an annoying echo that followed it. She hit her cell phone a couple of times. She needed a new one, anyways.

"Who are you?" she muttered. "I'm sorry, but I'm not in the mood."

"Then turn around and I'll be on my way."

"Who are you? You can't tell me what to—"

"Turn around. And I'll be on my way."

Ivory peeked over her shoulder.

Beck stood there, a wireless house phone clutched in his tan hand.


	32. Please, Sir, Release Her

Her first instinct was to run up and just hug him until everything seemed right again, but given the incidents that led him to where he was right now, that was obviously not a choice. Still, it was a reflex, so she just twitched awkwardly for a bit in her chair before deciding to stay put.

"Where were you?" she asked, trying to keep her voice cool. But she didn't want to come off like she didn't care that he'd disappeared—although she had been the reason he disappeared in the first place, which was both a flattering and frustrating position to be in.

"Nowhere," Beck answered vaguely. He regarded her expression for a moment longer, then let his eyes drift to the floor. He hooked his thumbs over the hem of his pockets, moving his beat up Converse high tops across her carpet. She watched them. The movement seemed almost mechanical, like he was looking for something to do with himself as this awkward silence moved in between them. It was odd to think that it wouldn't be like this if she hadn't said anything this morning, if she'd stayed in Hollywood Arts…

"Are you okay?" Ivory asked, curling her fingers around the back of her chair. Beck gave a sarcastic yet genuine half-smile. His eyes were tired, but they sparkled with the gleam of mischief that was ever-present, whatever the situation. He spread his arms limply. "I'm here, aren't I?"

She pursed her lips. "That's not what you're supposed to say."

Beck paused and let his arms drop to his sides again. He turned himself so he was fully facing her. "Excuse me?" he asked, smirking and raking a hand through his hair. That simple act forced the memory of the summer prior down her throat, and she choked on it—she remembered sitting on the nubby carpet of his RV, watching as he proudly showed off the various hair products in the shiny plastic bottles. He had more than she had, she recalled—she never really used product anyways. Just taking an iron to her rat's nest was good enough for her.

She swallowed the memory whole, and it went down. "You're supposed to say you're a wreck," she said pointedly. "You're supposed to say that you can't live without me. You're supposed to say that those long , uncertain hours were the worst stretches of time in your life, because knowing that you can't have me is just unbearable." Her knuckles whitened as her grip tightened on the chair. "If I wasn't so knee-deep in my pride, I'd be saying the same thing to you right now," she declared. "But I can't say anything to you if you've already forgotten and…"

Ivory pulled a lock of her straightened hair away from her head and tugged—not too hard to pull it off, just hard enough to keep the tears from coming. "Yeah." She sniffled, disguising it as a snort. "That's what you're supposed to say."

She shut her eyes, but she didn't have to reopen them or strain her ears to know that he was nearing. The scent of him filtered through her system, and he smelled _good_, like she remembered—cigarettes, even though he didn't smoke; Axe body spray; and just a hint of cinnamon, though whenever Ivory dared to bring it up, he shot the notion down.

It was ridiculous, acting like she hadn't seen him in over a year. But everything had been building up ever since she'd walked through the doors of the

"Do you want me to repeat that?" he asked, and he sounded funny, his voice thick. She couldn't open her eyes—that wasn't possible, because she knew by the burning sensation behind her eyelids that once they were open, the water would just come pouring out.

"It couldn't hurt," she managed in a strangled voice. She swallowed again. "But a kiss couldn't either, and personally I'd prefer the latter." Ivory opened her eyes and stared unseeingly as Beck came closer. Her heart pounded against her chest, vibrating her body, and soon the smell of him was invigorating. She willingly put her face forward, and they almost touched.

Her phone rang.

The Soulja Boy ringtone blared into the bedroom. _Hey, you there, _the rapper chimed from her Nexus. _Please, sir, release her. _

The irony of everything made her laugh, and he reciprocated. "Doesn't look like you were devastated enough to turn off your cell phone," Beck teased. She gave him an odd look and moved her hand to the pocket of her hoodie. "Have it your way."

Her finger was balanced on the power button of her cell phone until she noticed the name on the screen. It was a name she hadn't seen on her cell phone in a long time, probably three months. The answer as to what she should do with the call came obvious to her, but it didn't feel right to do so. Instead, she looked up at Beck, focusing on his smooth, tan chin. His eyes were wide, waiting for her to turn the cell phone off.

"I should take this," Ivory admitted apologetically. "It'll only be a minute, I promise you."

Beck nodded understandingly—though he _didn't_ understand, which deepened her guilt about accepting the call—and crossed the room to sit on her bed. She hit the green "answer" button and strode promptly out of the room.

"Hello?" She reached behind her and shut the door.

"Hi, Ivory."

She breathed in. "Hi… Robbie."

* * *

**the beginning is better than the ending. -_- but whatever haha. **

**sorry for the late updates. ): school is insane.**

**r&r. =)**


	33. But I Can't

_I was thinking about her, thinking about me, thinking about us, what we gonna be. Open my eyes, yeah; it was just a dream. So I travel back, down that road. Will she come back? No one knows. I realize, yeah, it was just a dream._

"I didn't see you at school today." The words tasted sour on his tongue, but he choked them out anyways. Hearing her voice was painful, and he felt like hanging up and breaking down rather than continuing the call. But despite the tempted twitching of his left hand, he tightened the fingers curled around the Treo he was pressing against his head.

She cleared her throat on the other end. "Nobody told you?" Her voice seemed distant, but he hadn't heard anything but distance in her voice since their breakup. "I'm back at my old high school."

_I was at the top. Now it's like I'm in the basement. Number one spot. Now she's finding a replacement. I swear now, I can't take it, knowing someone's got my baby. Now you wait around, baby, I can't think. I should've put it down, should've got that ring. 'Cause I can still feel it in the air, see your pretty face, run my fingers through your hair._

At this, Robbie almost dropped his Treo. "Why?" he spat out, ignoring the wave of sourness that followed after. "What happened? I'll kill it." He shut his mouth as soon as the words escaped, ashamed by his all-too-obvious display of desperation.

She ignored his screw-up. "I really don't wanna repeat this," she begged.

Robbie nodded. Although he was curious as to why she transferred, he wasn't sure he wanted her to repeat her story, either. "It's fine."

There was silence, and it hurt—it hurt that the few glorious weeks he spent being hers had transformed into this deadened silence. But no matter how much this silence stung, it didn't hurt as much as her next words.

"Why are you calling, Robbie?"

It was as if she was rushing to end the phone call, or at least that's what he got from it. Maybe she just didn't want to waste money on a silent phone call, or maybe it was just as painful as it was for her. But whatever it was, the first possibility seemed the most real to Robbie, and that realization almost knocked him off his feet.

He sat down, just in case.

_My love. My life. My shawty. My wife. She left me. I'm tied, 'cause I knew that it just ain't right._

"I just…" He sucked in air. What _was_ he just? "I'm sorry."

"You said that."

"So, what's the problem?" He pursed his lips. "If I'm sorry and you know it, then why is everything still messed up?"

"Because you turned out to be who I thought you weren't."

"So did you."

There was more silence.

"I'm sorry, too."

_When I be riding, man, I swear I see her face at every turn. Tryna get my Usher, but I can't let it burn. And I just hopes she know that she the only one I yearn for. More and more I miss her, when will I learn? Didn't give her all my love, I guess now I got my payback. Now I'm in the club, thinking all about my baby. Hey, she was so easy to love. But wait, I guess that love wasn't enough. I'm going through it every time I'm alone, and now I'm missing, wishing she'd pick up that phone. But she made the decision that she wanted to move on, 'cause I was wrong._

The line clicked, and she was gone.

_If you ever loved somebody put your hands up, and now they're gone and you're wishing you could give them everything._

_

* * *

_

The house was never familiar to her. She had only been here once, despite how close their relationship was.

She cringed involuntarily at the thought. _Was_. What a nasty word.

She had planned on being in his driveway by now, but she was still sitting in the same spot she had been parked at about ten minutes ago. She had turned on the windshield wipers, and was now watching them flip back and forth, even though it wasn't raining. Thank God that nobody had come by and told her to move away, or worse, call her crazy and report her to the nearest mental institution.

Though it was mean and regretting to admit, she'd rather be there than parked at the end of his street.

Ivory forced herself to turn the ignition off.

There. That wasn't so hard.

Truth is, it was never hard to turn the ignition off.

It was never hard to unbuckle her seatbelt. She did that now.

This was followed by the opening of her car door. No sweat.

Heck, she even went as far as to get out of the vehicle and get onto the sidewalk.

It was walking towards his house that was the death march.

Ivory knew exactly where that was. It was the quaint blue American Craftsman on the right side of the street, where she was. She was peeking at it behind a large hedge a good ninety feet away, as if the Shapiros would parade out and attack her if they saw her stalking their street. If Mamaw was there, then she surely would—there was no doubt about it. Just because she hadn't seen the grandmother since May, it didn't mean she forgot about her. No, her words made an impact. She brushed a finger through her now-brown side bangs. Long gone was the purple. She wondered if that would make a difference in their relationship.

She braced herself and started down the street. The night was silent, except for crickets and a faint thumping noise. The deep violet night sky stretched out above, pierced with white gold stars. The thumping noise became louder and louder as she neared the house.

_Take me back to the days where I could not wait to wake up. Weird hair and a care what to wear, 'cause no matter what, I still found love. Take me back to the days where losing a game was the worst thing I knew. Getting thrills off little stuff that now I just can't do._

For a while, she thought it was her heart, and it wasn't a bad assumption—that thing was pumping a mile a minute against her ribcage, so hard that her bones were vibrating and on the verge of breaking all at once. Truthfully, she wouldn't mind that. It would reduce her to a crumpled sack of flesh—well, more so than what she was now—and thus making the journey to his house that more impossible.

_I can't stand growing up. I'm going way too fast. Well, just a second I miss my past. Yeah, being old has its perks, but I miss my old friends, and the way shit used to be. I wanna start again._

As she neared the house, she realized the thumping was a sphere of orange rubber being pounding against the black concrete of the Shapiros' driveway. Robbie stood in the center of it, dribbling the basketball in a dark gray T-Shirt, black knee-length shorts, and big white sneakers. He stared up at the basket, eyes crazed, the tip of his tongue hanging out. He tossed the basketball up, and it circled the perimeter of the basket before falling away.

"_Dammit_!" he cried out. He grabbed the basketball, dunked it into a hedge, and turned away.

_I miss everything. I wish that you could. _

He was about to sulk away into the garage, but something was waiting just a little off his curb, watching him. He turned around.

Ivory waved. She picked at the hem of her purple tunic, her legs shaking in her black skinny jeans. Her feet fell asleep at the bottom of her gray Uggs.

"Hey, stranger."

_Take me back to the days when school wasn't a chore. Now I have to play hooky to hide from the things that I used to not want to ignore. Take me back to the world that I knew before the love was taken. Another smile drop, listen while the time stops now._

"Hey." Robbie ducked his head and wiped his sodden forehead with the bottom of his T-Shirt. "How are you?" His voice was eggshell-thin, and he still refused to look at her. She considered bouncing in front of him so he was forced to face her, but she couldn't make herself go. Instead, she sidestepped onto the curb so she faced at least three-fourths of him.

"I'm alright." She kicked some imaginary dust away from her. "Beck came back."

"Oh?" His voice seemed tight. He rubbed absently at several bruises on his left arm.

"Yeah." Ivory tugged at the ends of her hair. "Do you think I should dye my hair purple again?"

"Ivory, I know that you didn't come all the way to ask me that."

"You've always known me so well." Ivory pulled her hair away from her head.

"So, what?"

He seemed desperate to keep the silence away from the conversation. Ivory was grateful.

Ivory bit her lip. "I'm sorry."

She marched to him and planted a small kiss on his lips.

He blinked.

"What was that for?"

Ivory smiled.

"Does this mean…?" Robbie raised an eyebrow, looking at his feet. Ivory watched his face redden in the glow of the porch light. She began picking at her tunic again

"I'm sorry, I—"

"I get it. Whatever."

He began to turn away again. Ivory grabbed his arm. It tensed under her touch, but he came back.

"Maybe someday we'll know why I'm not good for you," she murmured.

"Someday," Robbie echoed. He scratched the back of his head. "I still love you."

"I do, too." She brushed her hand up and down his forearm, avoiding the bruises with ease. "Just not as much as I did before."

The words hurt coming out of her mouth, and undoubtedly hurt him, too. But she refused to lie to him, and if telling the truth involved hurting him, then that was the way it had to be.

"I should go," she said after some time. She moved a good distance away from him and bowed her head, as if the dead romance deserved a proper moment of silence. It did, actually. He bowed his head slightly, too, realizing.

"Can we kiss again?"

Ivory looked up in surprise.

Robbie was blushing again. "One last time," he pleaded in a hoarse voice.

Ivory neared him again. She touched her hand to his cheek, but that was all.

_Take me back to the life when I can know myself again. I wish I could. I wish I could._

She turned away and left.

_But I can't._


	34. If It Keeps You Around, I'm Down

_Just another pretty face, but I want one more taste._

_

* * *

_

Robbie Shapiro pulled his pen away from the sheet of printer paper. He brought the gold tip to his lips, then put it back to the paper. He immediately brought it back.

What was wrong with him today? He was usually so good at writing reports. That's what had gotten him to snatch the position of CEO for Pear Industries, after all. He was just naturally a hard worker.

There was just something off about that day.

The house phone trilled. He pushed himself away from his workspace to fetch it.

The twenty-eight-year-old picked up the cordless phone, then retreated back to his office. "Hello?"

_She came back. Thought she had it all planned out._

"Robbie!"

He recognized to voice immediately. "Ivory," he grinned. "How're things going? How's med school?"

The two had kept close after graduating from Hollywood Arts, and hearing from her wasn't too unusual for Robbie. Still, whenever she called, he savored every moment of the call.

"It's fine," she dismissed. "I'm actually taking a break from studying right now. Damn." She gulped a drink down on her side. "But that's not what I wanted to tell you."

"Shoot." Robbie grabbed his own cup of half-caf metal thermos of coffee and sipped it gently. The bitter, hot liquid slid down his throat unnoticed. He was too intrigued by what Ivory wanted to tell him.

Ivory took a deep breath. "Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

"Because if you're not ready, I can…"

"Ivory." Robbie put the thermos back down on the desk. "You can tell me. I'm a big boy."

His friend smirked teasingly. "You sure?"

Robbie gave an exaggerated sigh. "Well, alright, Ivory, I have a big report I need to get cracking on, so if you don't wanna tell me…"

"Alright, Robbie. I shouldn't keep you. Have fun with your report."

"_Ivory_."

She squealed. "Okay. I'm sorry."

There was silence.

"You ready?" Ivory squeaked.

"God_damn_."

"Okay, for real this time!" Ivory cried. She took a deep breath.

Robbie clutched the phone to his ear.

"Beck and I are getting _married_."

_Went to marry some guy she had talked about._

Robbie blinked. "Really?"

He could almost feel her nodding over the phone. "Yeah!"

Robbie swilled in a breath. "Wow."

Ivory dropped something on her end. "It's great, right? And we want you there."

Robbie smiled. "It is. It's great. I'll be there."

Ivory pounded something in excitement. "Awesome. I'll send you the details within the next few days."

And with that, the line dropped dead.

Robbie put the phone down.

And he couldn't decide if there was something wrong about everything that was going on—like he should be some place instead of somebody else. The thoughts of purple hair, young love, and a web show flickered through his mind.

He shrugged and went back to work.

* * *

**and that is the end.**

**haha. (': it makes me sad to end this story because it was really fun to write and you guys were awesome reading and commenting and whatnot. "story-alerting.."**

**but i do have another victorious fic idea in my head, and if any of you guys wanna read it, i'll post the link to the first chapter here when it's up.**

**(: alright. i love y'all. :3**

**-bella**

**update: .net/s/6388615/1/ here you go. enjoy.**


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